Grafted-In Ministries
47 Reasons Why Our Heavenly Father Has No Equals or “Co-Equals”
By :Spirit & Truth Fellowship
There are many verses that, if read and believed in a simple, straightforward manner, should clearly convince any unbiased person that Elohim and Yeshua are two completely different and distinct beings. There are also many logical reasons that should cause us to doubt the doctrine of the Trinity. What follows is a list of some reasons to believe that the Father is the only true Elohim of Scripture and has no equal.
Reasons to doubt that the Trinity exists:
(1) The word “Trinity” is not in the Bible.
(2) There is no clear Trinitarian formula in the Bible.
(3) Trinitarians differ greatly in their definitions of the Trinity. The Eastern Orthodox Church differs from the Western traditions regarding the relation of the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son. Some television evangelists differ greatly from the Reformed Churches in their concept of Messiah’s divinity while he was on earth. Oneness Pentecostals say the classic formula of the Trinity is completely wrong. Yet all these claim that Messiah is Elohim and that the Bible supports their position. Surely if the Trinity were a part of Bible doctrine, and especially if one had to believe it to be saved, it would be clearly defined in Scripture. Yet there is no Trinitarian formula in the Bible and Trinitarians themselves cannot agree on a definition. If one is to believe in the Trinity, how is he to know which definition is correct, since none appears in the Bible?
(4) The Trinitarian contention that “the Father is Elohim, the Son is Elohim, the Holy Spirit is Elohim, and together they make one Elohim” is not in Scripture and is illogical. Trinitarians teach that Yeshua is both 100 percent man and 100 percent Elohim. We say that Elohim can do the impossible, but He cannot perform that which is inherently contradictory. Elohim is the inventor of logic and mathematics, disciplines He created to allow us to get to know Him and His world. It is the very reason why He said that He is “One Elohim,” and why Yeshua said that the witness of two was true and then said that he and His Father both were witnesses. Elohim cannot make a round square, and He cannot make 100 percent +100 percent = 100 percent, without contradicting the laws of mathematics He designed.
Verses that show a difference between the nature of Elohim and the nature of Messiah:
(5) Elohim is spirit (John 4:24), yet even after his resurrection Yeshua said of himself that he was not a spirit, but flesh and bone (Luke 24:39).
(6) Yeshua is very plainly called a man many times in Scripture: John 8:40; Acts 2:22; 17:31; 1 Tim. 2:5, etc. In contrast to this, the Bible says, “Elohim is not a man…” (Numbers 23:19), and “…For I am Elohim, and not man…” (Hosea 11:9).
(7) Numbers 23:19 also specifically says that Elohim is not “a son of man.” In the Gospels, Yeshua is often called “a son of man” or “the son of man.” If Elohim became a human being who was called “the son of man” this creates a contradiction. Some occurances of the phrase “son of man” in the New Testament are Matthew 12:40; 16:27 and 28; Mark 2:10; 8:31; John 5:27. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the “son of man” is also used many times speaking of people (Job 25:6; Psalm 80:17; 144:3; Ezekiel 2:1; 2:3; 2:6; 2:8; 3:1; 3:3; 3:4; 3:10; 3:17; 3:25). Human beings, including Yeshua Messiah, are called “son of man,” and are thus carefully distinguished from Elohim, who is not a “son of man.”
(8) Elohim was not born, but is eternal. In contrast to the eternal Elohim, Messiah was “begotten,” that is, he had a beginning. Matthew 1:18 reads ‘Now the birth of Yeshua Messiah….” The word translated “birth” in the original text was genesis, or “beginning.” Some scribes changed this to gennesis [with a double “n” and the second “e” long] because they were uncomfortable saying Yeshua had a “beginning.” Although it is true that a legitimate meaning of genesis is “birth,” that is because the birth of something is understood as its beginning. If Yeshua pre-existed his birth, as Trinitarians teach, the use of “beginning” in Matthew is misleading. Scripture teaches that the beginning of Yeshua was his conception and birth. Thankfully, even modern Trinitarian scholars recognize that the original reading was genesis, although it is translated as “birth” in almost all translations.
(9) Yeshua is called the “Son of Elohim” more than 50 times in the Bible. Not once is he called “Elohim the Son.”
(10) Man (Adam) caused mankind’s problems, and Romans 5:19 says that a man will have to undo those problems: “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” Some theologians teach that only Elohim could pay for the sins of mankind, but the Bible clearly teaches that only a man could do it.
(11) Yeshua, the man, is the mediator between Elohim and men. 1 Timothy 2:5 says: “For there is one Elohim and one mediator between Elohim and men, the man Messiah Yeshua.” Messiah is clearly called a “man,” even after his resurrection. Also, if Messiah were himself Elohim, he could not be the mediator “between Elohim and man.”
Verses that show that Elohim is greater than Messiah:
(12) Yeshua called the Father “my Elohim” both before and after his resurrection (Matt. 27:46; John 20:17; Rev. 3:12). Yeshua did not think of himself as Elohim, but instead had a Elohim just as we do. For example, he told Mary Magdalene to go to the brothers and tell them, “I ascend to my Father and your Father, and my Elohim and your Elohim” (John 20:17). Thus Yeshua’ Elohim is the same Elohim as our Elohim, the Father.
(13) Yeshua said, “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). In direct contrast to these clear words from Yeshua, the orthodox formula of the Trinity says that the Father and the Son are “co-equal.”
(14) It was Elohim who made Yeshua “Lord.” Acts 2:36 says: “Elohim has made this Yeshua…both Lord and Messiah.” “Lord” is not the same as “Elohim.” “Lord” (the Greek word is kurios) is a masculine title of respect and nobility, and it is used many times in the Bible. If Messiah were Elohim, then by definition he was already “Lord,” so for the Bible to say he was “made” Lord could not be true. To say that Yeshua is Elohim because the Bible calls him “Lord” is very poor scholarship. “Lord” is used in many ways in the Bible, and others beside Elohim and Yeshua are called “Lord.”
1) property owners are called Lord (Matt. 20:8, kurios is “owner” — NIV)
2) heads of households were called Lord (Mk 13:35, owner=kurios).
3) slave owners were called Lord (Matt. 10:24, master=kurios).
4) husbands were called Lord (1 Pet. 3:6, master=kurios).
5) a son called his father Lord (Matt. 21:30, sir=kurios).
6) the Roman Emperor was called Lord (Acts 25:26, His Majesty=kurios).
7) Roman authorities were called Lord (Matt. 27:63, sir=kurios).
(15) In the future, the Son will be subject to the Father. 1 Cor. 15:28 says: “When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him [Elohim] who put everything under him, so that Elohim may be all in all.” Trinitarian dogma contradicts this by making Yeshua eternally equal to the Father.
(16) Yeshua recognized that the Father was the only true Elohim. In prayer, he said to Elohim “…that they might know you, the only true Elohim, and Yeshua Messiah whom you have sent” (John 17:3). For Yeshua to have prayed this way surely meant that he did not consider himself to be “the only true Elohim.”
(17) Yeshua was “sanctified” by Elohim. John 10:36 says: “Do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming’ because I said ‘I am the son of Elohim’”? . Yeshua was sanctified by Elohim, but Elohim does not need to be sanctified.
(18) Philippians 2:6-8 has been mistranslated in many versions, but properly rendered, verse 6 says that Messiah “did not consider equality with Elohim something to be grasped.” Yeshua Messiah was highly exalted by Elohim because he did not seek equality with Elohim like Lucifer had many years earlier. The statement makes no sense at all if Messiah were Elohim, because then Messiah would have been praised for not seeking equality with himself.
(19) It was clear that Yeshua did not consider himself equal with the Father. In John 5:19, he said, “The Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing” (cp. v. 30 and John 8:28 and 12:49).
(20) There is only one who is “good,” and that is Elohim. In Luke 18:19, Yeshua spoke to a man who had called Him “good,” asking him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except Elohim alone.” If Yeshua had been telling people that he was Elohim, he would have complimented the man on his perception, just as he complimented Peter when Peter said he was “the Messiah, the Son of the living Elohim.” Instead, Messiah gave him a mild rebuke. Messiah was not teaching the people that he was Elohim.
(21) 1 Corinthians 3:23 makes it clear that Elohim is greater than Messiah, just as Messiah is greater than we are: “…and you belong to Messiah; and Messiah belongs to Elohim” (NASB).
(22) If Elohim is greater than Messiah, then Elohim is his leader just as Messiah is our leader. This is exactly what the Bible teaches: “Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Messiah, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Messiah is Elohim” (1 Cor 11:3). It is obvious from this verse and 1 Cor. 3:23 (above) that the Trinitarian formula that Messiah and Elohim are “co-equal” is not biblical.
(23) When the disciples prayed to Elohim in Acts, they called King David Elohim’s “servant” (4:25). Later in that same prayer they called Yeshua “your holy servant” (4:30). It is very obvious that the first century disciples did not believe Messiah was Elohim, but thought of him, like David, as a servant of Elohim. (cp. Matt. 12:18 and Acts 3:26, which also refer to Yeshua as Elohim’s “servant”).
(24) It was Elohim who did miracles and wonders through Messiah. (Matt. 9:8; Acts 2:22; 10:38). If Messiah were Elohim, the Bible would simply say that Messiah did the miracles himself without making reference to Elohim. The fact that it was Elohim supplying the power for the miracles shows that Elohim is greater than Messiah.
(25) There are many verses indicating that Yeshua’ power and authority was given to him by the Father. If he were the eternal Elohim, then he would have always had those things that the Scripture says he was “given.” Messiah was given “all authority” (Matt. 28:18). He was given “a name above every name” (Phil. 2:9). He was given work to finish by the Father (John 5:36). He was given those who believed in him by the Father (John 6:39; 10:29). He was given glory (John 17:22 and 24). He was given his “cup” [his torture and death] by the Father (John 18:11). Elohim “seated” Messiah at His own right hand (Eph. 1:20). Messiah was “appointed” over the Church (Eph. 1:22). These verses and others like them make no sense if Messiah is “co-equal” with the Father, but make perfect sense if Messiah was the Messiah, “a man accredited by Elohim.”
(26) Despite all the people who speak of the “Deity of Messiah,” the phrase never appears in the Bible, nor is Messiah ever called “Deity.” “Deity” is from the Latin “Deus, which means “Elohim,” and the phrase, “the Deity of Messiah,” as it is popularly (but not biblically) used, means “the ‘Godness’ of Messiah.” However, Messiah is not Elohim, he is Lord, as many clear verses show. Colossians 2:9 says that in Messiah the “fullness of Deity dwells bodily.” (NRSV) This verse is stating that Elohim (the Deity) placed all His fullness in Messiah, which is quite different from saying that Messiah is Deity. Earlier in Colossians, the concept is made clear: “Elohim was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” (Colossians 1:19). That is true. John 3:34 says: “For the one whom Elohim has sent speaks the words of Elohim, for Elohim gives the Spirit without limit.” The fact that Messiah has “all the fullness” of Elohim does not make him Elohim. In Ephesians 3:19, the Bible says that Christians should be filled with “all the fullness of Elohim,” and no one believes that this makes Christians Elohim. Furthermore, if Messiah were Elohim, it would make no sense to say that the fullness of Elohim dwelt in him, because, being Elohim, he would always have the fullness of Elohim. The fact that Messiah could have the fullness of Elohim dwell in him shows that he was not Elohim.
2 Peter 1:4 says that through the great and precious promises “you may participate in the divine nature.” Having a “divine nature” does not make us Elohim, and it did not make Messiah Elohim. The New International Version Study Bible note on 2 Peter 1:4 says that it means only that “we are indwelt by Elohim through His Holy Spirit.” Likewise Messiah, who was filled with holy spirit without limits, had the fullness of Deity dwelling in Him.
(27) Ephesians 4:5 and 6 says there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one Elohim and Father of all.” The “one Lord” is Yeshua. The “one Elohim” is the Father. There are clearly two separate beings represented here, not “one Elohim” composed of Yeshua and his Father. Furthermore, there is no verse that says that Yeshua and the Father are “one Elohim.”
(28) 1 Corinthians 8:6 says, “yet for us there is but one Elohim, the Father…and there is but one Lord, Yeshua Messiah.” If there is one Elohim and one Lord, then there are two, and they are not the same.
(29) Yeshua called the Father, “the only Elohim” (John 5:44). The New American Standard Version goes so far as to translate it as “the one and only Elohim.” Yeshua would not have said this had he believed he himself were Elohim also.
(30) Messiah made a distinction between speaking against him and speaking against the Holy Spirit. Luke 12:10: “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” If both the Holy Spirit and Messiah were co-equal persons in one Elohim, then there would be no difference between speaking against Messiah and speaking against the Holy Spirit.
(31) Messiah said his doctrine was not his own. John 7:16: “My teaching is not my own. It comes from Him who sent me.” Messiah could not have said this if he were Elohim because the doctrine would have been his.
(32) Yeshua and Elohim have separate wills. Luke 22:42: “not my will but yours be done” (cp. John 5:30).
(33) Yeshua counted himself and his Father as two, not “one.” John 8:17 and 18: “In your own law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father.” Yeshua confirmed this truth in John 14:1 when he said: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in Elohim; trust also in me.” There are literally hundreds of scriptures like these that set forth Yeshua and Elohim as separate and distinct beings. “Whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the son” (2 John 9). The Scripture clearly recognizes the Father and the Son, but not “both” of them as “one Elohim.”
(34) The Bible always portrays Elohim and Messiah as two separate beings. Examples are far too many to list, but a few are: When Stephen saw them just before his death, he saw “the son of man standing at the right hand of Elohim” (Acts 7:56); the Church Epistles are authored by both Elohim and Messiah; Elohim and Messiah rule in the eternal city of Revelation (Chapter 21).
(35) The Bible makes it clear that Yeshua is an “heir” of Elohim, and a joint heir with us (Rom. 8:17 – KJV). If Messiah is a “person” in the “godhead” and co-eternal with the Father, then he cannot be an heir, because, as Elohim, he is full owner of all and there is nothing he could “inherit.” He simply would share eternal glory. By making Messiah a co-heir with believers and an heir of Elohim, the Bible makes it clear how much Messiah is like us. We inherit from the Father, and Messiah does too.
(36) The Bible is clear that Yeshua is the “image of Elohim” (Col. 1:15; 2 Cor. 4:4). If Messiah is the image of Elohim, then he cannot be Elohim, because you cannot be an image of someone and the real person at the same time. If you see a photograph of us, you see our image and you can learn a lot about us from it, but the image is not the real us. Messiah is the image of Elohim. We learn a lot about Elohim from seeing Messiah, but the simple fact that he is Elohim’s image proves he is not Elohim.
(37) “The only wise Elohim” receives His glory through Yeshua Messiah (Rom. 16:27: “To the only wise Elohim be glory forever through Yeshua Messiah”). To reference “Elohim” apart from Messiah and say at the same time that Elohim was the “only” Elohim is very clear. Yeshua is not, and is not part of, the “only” Elohim.
Trinitarian doctrine teaches that Elohim and Messiah (and the Holy Spirit) make up “One Elohim,” but the Bible teaches they are two distinct beings.
Verses that highlight Yeshua’ humanity and thus his difference from Elohim:
(38) Yeshua grew in wisdom, but Elohim is all wise (Luke 2:52: “And Yeshua increased in wisdom”). Also, Yeshua “learned obedience” (Heb. 5:8). Elohim does not need to learn.
(39) Yeshua had limited knowledge. For example, Mark 13:32 says: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” [Although some Greek texts omit “nor the Son,” Trinitarian textual scholars now admit the phrase was in the original text of Mark. It was Trinitarian scribes who tried to have this phrase taken from the Bible because it disagreed with their theology and they could not explain it.] Even after his resurrection, Yeshua still receives knowledge from Elohim as Rev. 1:1 indicates: “The revelation of Yeshua Messiah, which Elohim gave him.”
(40) Scripture teaches that it was fitting that Elohim should “make” Yeshua “perfect through suffering” (Heb. 2:10). Elohim is, and has always been, perfect, but Yeshua needed to attain perfection through his suffering.
(41) Yeshua received the holy spirit at his baptism. If Yeshua were Elohim and the holy spirit were Elohim, then Elohim would have been anointed by Elohim. What purpose would this have served? We know why people are anointed, but what power could Elohim give to Himself? Yeshua was given holy spirit just as believers are today.
(42) Yeshua was “tempted in every way—just as we are” (Heb. 4:15), yet the Bible is clear that Elohim cannot be tempted: “for Elohim cannot be tempted by evil” (James 1:13).
(43) At times of weakness or difficulty, angels ministered to and strengthened Yeshua. Luke 22:43 says: “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him [in the garden of Gethsemane].” Men need to be strengthened; Elohim does not (cp. Matt. 4:11, Mk. 1:13).
(44) Scripture teaches that Yeshua died. Elohim cannot die. Romans 1:23 and other verses say that Elohim is immortal. Immortal means “not subject to death.” This term applies only to Elohim.
(45) Hebrews 4:15 says that when Yeshua was on earth, he was “just as we are.” None of us would have the feelings, the doubts, the fears, etc., that we do if we were Elohim. To say that Elohim feels like I do is to make a mockery of Elohim. Yeshua was the expected Messiah of Elohim, the Last Adam, a “man accredited by Elohim,” as Acts 2:22 says.
(46) Hebrews 2:10 and 11 say that Yeshua is not ashamed to call us his “brothers,” because we have the same Father he does. The Bible teaches that we are “brothers” of Yeshua and “sons of Elohim.” The Bible never says or even infers that we are “brothers of Elohim.”
(47) We are commissioned to do “greater works” than Yeshua. This would be absurd if Messiah were Elohim, because then we disciples would be commissioned to do greater works than Elohim does. John 14:12 (NASB) says: “He who believes in me [Yeshua], the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do.”
Elohim is Elohim because of certain attributes that He has. If Yeshua Messiah were Elohim, he would have to have the attributes of Elohim. Most theologians agree that these attributes are: unoriginated, self-existent, immortal, unchanging, omniscient, all wise, all good, all-powerful and omnipresent. But Yeshua denied every one of these.
He was not unoriginated: Messiah was begotten of Elohim. “The Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in himself” (John 5:26).
He was not self-existent: “I live because of the Father” (John 6:57).
He was not immortal. Yeshua died and Elohim resurrected him (See # 44 above).
He was not unchanging. He grew and learned, and he died and rose in a new and different body.
He was not omniscient. There were things he did not know (See # 38 above).
He was not all wise. Yeshua “grew in wisdom” (See # 37 above).
He was not all good. He said the only one good was Elohim (See # 20 above).
He was not all-powerful. Whereas “nothing is impossible with Elohim” (Luke 1:37), Messiah said “the Son can do nothing by Himself” (John 5:19).
He was not omnipresent. After Lazarus died, Yeshua told his disciples, “I am glad I was not there” (John 11:15).
The attributes of Elohim are what make Him Elohim, just as there are certain attributes that make a man what he is. There is a common saying that “if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck.” This could easily be applied here. Elohim “walks and quacks” like Elohim. Yeshua “walks and quacks” like a man, and Scripture says very clearly that he is a man. We assert that the Bible is clear in its teaching about who Elohim is and who Messiah is, and we ask Christians to carefully consider what they believe and why.
We also think that believing that Yeshua is Elohim, “the Holy Spirit” is Elohim, and the Father is Elohim actually demeans the Only True Elohim. Making Elohim one of three co-equal “persons” takes from Him His exalted position as the Only True Elohim, the Creator of the universe, the Author of the plan of Salvation, the Father of Yeshua Messiah, and our one Elohim.
Besides robbing Elohim of His exalted position as Elohim supreme, believing that Yeshua is Elohim also demeans him. One cannot appreciate how great Yeshua really was until you make an effort to live like he did for even one day. His courage, mental tenacity, love and great faith are unparalleled in human history. His true greatness is lost if you believe he is Elohim, for “with Elohim all things are possible.” Believing Yeshua is Elohim also demeans Elohim because Yeshua himself said, “my Father is greater than I.”
Believing that Messiah is Elohim also means that he could not have sinned [which makes sense given that “Elohim” cannot sin]. Messiah must have been able to sin, for Scripture says he was “tempted in every way just as we are.” Messiah went through life like each human does, with doubts, fears and concerns, and with the possibility of sin. To believe that Yeshua could not have sinned makes it impossible for us to identify with him.
By restoring the Father to His unique and singular position as Elohim, we give Him all the worship, credit, respect and awe He deserves as the One True Elohim. By restoring Messiah to his position as the man accredited by Elohim, the only-begotten Son of the Father, the Last Adam, the one who could have sinned but voluntarily stayed obedient, the one who could have given up but loved us so much that he never quit, the one whom Elohim highly exalted to be our Lord, we give Yeshua Messiah all the worship, credit, respect and awe that he deserves, and we can draw great strength and determination from his example.