The Uniqueness Of Trinitarian Monotheism

         In simplest terms, polytheism is belief in the existence of multiple gods. Cited examples could range anywhere from the Roman pantheon of gods to religions that still thrive such as Hinduism. It is both an ancient and modern concept. The fundamental logical dilemma for polytheistic worldviews is rooted in the fact that the gods of such religions do not function in perfect harmony with each other. They certainly are diverse. Such gods are by no means unified. 

         In a polytheistic framework, there is no final arbitrator of truth. The deities fight amongst each other. In Greco-Roman literature, gods killed and stole wives from each other. They spitefully contradicted and blasphemed one another. The gods of polytheistic religions are subject to defeat. Thus, morality is rendered subjective in a polytheistic worldview. Peace becomes nonexistent. Chaos abounds fully. Of what avail is polytheism to our lives?

         In contrast, the God of the Judeo-Christian worldview exists as one in three separate, divine persons. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-present. He is eternal and self-sufficient. God is love, and enjoys fellowship with creation. He is righteous. Trinitarian monotheism is the most rational expression of monotheism. No mere man could have invented a doctrine as sophisticated, yet so profound, as that of the Trinity. The gods of pagan religions, however, act exactly like depraved man himself. Are they even worthy of being worshiped? Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek wrote:

         "...the Trinity helps us understand how love has existed from all eternity. The New Testament says God is love (1 John 4:16). But how can love exist in a rigid monotheistic being? There's no one else to love! Tri-unity in the Godhead solves the problem. After all, to have love, there must be a lover (the Father), a loved one (the Son), and a spirit of love (the Holy Spirit). Because of this triune nature, God has existed eternally in a perfect fellowship of love. He is the perfect being who lacks nothing, not even love. Since he lacks nothing, God didn't need to to create human beings for any reason (he wasn't lonely, as some preachers have been known to say). He simply chose to create us, and loves us in accordance to his loving nature." (I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, p. 353)

         The so-called deities of polytheistic religions are defective and so have proven themselves to be nothing to us. They are beneath our consideration. They are not fit recipients of our effort, attention, or respect. The history of the Old Testament makes this reality clear to us who have faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was He who delivered the Jews from the hands of Egypt's pharaoh. It was God who spared Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. It is against this kind of a backdrop that a Psalmist wrote about pagans and their gods:

         "Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat. Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them." (Psalm 115:4-8)

         This passage contains elements of sarcasm as well as irony. The Psalmist disparages the gods of foreign nations by noting their inability to do anything even for themselves. People who follow after them are thus considered stupid and senseless. They are viewed as objects of contempt. The gods of foreign nations are described as having characteristics of living beings, yet having no life or power in them. They have no use, being nothing but a product of human imagination.

          The Holy Scriptures tell us in no uncertain terms that there is only one true God (Exodus 20:1-3; Isaiah 43:10-11). He stands out in contrast to the false gods of this world. He is the living God; the rest are dead and helpless. God has no name like Zeus or Apollo. Human reason cannot even begin to fathom the depths of who He is. God alone is the Creator of heaven and earth. Logical deductions used to argue for the existence of God such as an orderly universe and objective moral truths are consistent with monotheism.

The Omnipresence Of Jesus Christ

• Discussion:

          -One aspect of God's nature is that He is omnipresent. That means He is present everywhere at once. He transcends the boundaries of matter, space, and time. He is confined by nothing. No part of creation can contain Him in the fullness of His glory. He is not restricted to any section of the universe. There is no place where God does not inhabit. He is fully present everywhere. This attribute of God clearly shines forth in the Old Testament:

          "But will God indeed dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built." (2 Chronicles 6:18)

          Solomon marveled at the incomprehensibility of God. He cannot be contained by a temple because He is immaterial. He has no physical parts.

          "Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? “Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

          God appeals to His infinitude in making the point that the wicked and deceitful cannot escape His judgment. He says outright that He is present in exactly the same way everywhere else. This results in paradoxes like God being both accessible to man and far beyond his reach at once.

         These expressions describing God as omnipresent are equally applicable to Jesus Christ in His deity. Consider these words from Paul about His relation to creation:

          "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:21-23)

          The church is said to be His body, which can be found across earth. Christ dwells spiritually amongst people of faith. He resides in our hearts.

          One passage from Matthew records Christ promising to be with us always to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). He has resided with believers, who live throughout the world, during the course of history. This strongly implies that He in His deity is omnipresent.

           "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20)

           Christ alluded to His own omnipresence. In His deity, He is limited to no particular locale. It is also possible that in Matthew 18:20, Matthew echoes a saying popular amongst Jewish rabbis of his day. The New American Bible Revised Edition has this excerpt:

           "[18:20] For where two or three…midst of them: the presence of Jesus guarantees the efficacy of the prayer. This saying is similar to one attributed to a rabbi executed in A.D. 135 at the time of the second Jewish revolt: “…When two sit and there are between them the words of the Torah, the divine presence (Shekinah) rests upon them” (Pirqê ’Abôt 3, 3)."

            We never see in the four gospels Jesus Christ being in many places at the same time in His humanity. Such a statement would be true of Him only in His deity. Christ is both truly God and truly man, which is the hypostatic union. Just as God dwelt in the temple, so He has chosen to reside in a human body to make atonement for our sins. In both instances, He concealed His glory and dwelt with man for a time.

A Trinitarian Perspective Of John 17

        Jesus Christ petitioned God the Father to give Him the glory that both shared since before the timing of creation (John 17:4-5). God the Son expresses having a relationship with Him from eternity past (John 17:24). Note how God said in the Old Testament that He would give His glory to no other (Isaiah 42:8). That splendor is inherent to who He is. If Jesus is not God, then how could He share that same glory?

        The Son reveals an inextricable unity between Himself and the Father (John 17:11; 20; 22). Both have fellowship with each other. Both are one in essence. If the Father and the Son are one by nature, then does this not imply the latter to be divine? Just as everything belongs to the Father, so everything also belongs to the Son (John 17:10). The Father and the Son are co-equal and co-eternal while having different functions.

        Both share the same divine glory. Jesus oftentimes spoke from a human standpoint, which should not surprise us because He is a composite being. He is truly man and truly God. According to John 17:25-26, Jesus Christ reveals to us the Father. The knowledge and understanding of God transcends our mental faculties by an infinite margin. How could Christ reveal to us the Father if He Himself were not also God?

Does Daniel 7:13-14 Affirm That Jesus Is God?

          “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14, emphasis added)

          This messianic prophecy articulated through Daniel emphatically describes God ("Ancient of Days") as sitting in judgment over the conquered nations of rebellion. They are represented in context as various beasts, along with the establishment of the eternal throne of Jesus Christ His Son. He is clearly portrayed in this text as being sovereign over creation. He is thus a figure worthy of our worship. This vision reveals to us that both God the Father and God the Son rule over all creation.

          This is the only occurrence in the Old Testament of the term "son of man" referring solely to the promised Jewish Messiah. Daniel wrote of Jesus Christ from the viewpoint of heaven, whereas the gospel writers described Him from an earthly vantage point. After His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven through the clouds. Now, He sits at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:12). Christ has been given dominion over His eternal kingdom. 

          Moreover, the text of Daniel 7:13-14 can be paralleled with Revelation chapters four and five. In that context, we see that the Lamb of God alone is found to be worthy of opening the scroll declaring the inheritance of the nations. This takes place when the evil kingdoms of this world get eliminated forever. He has been given authority, glory, and power. Christ reigns with majestic glory for all eternity onward. He shares the throne of God. Christ is truly God incarnate.

          Jerome wrote the following in his commentary on Daniel 7:13:

          “And behold, there came One with the clouds of heaven like unto the Son of man.” He who was described in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar as a rock cut without hands, which also grew to be a large mountain, and which smashed the earthenware, the iron, the bronze, the silver, and the gold is now introduced as the very person of the Son of man, so as to indicate in the case of the Son of God how He took upon Himself human flesh; according to the statement which we read in the Acts of the Apostles: ‘Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up towards heaven? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him going into heaven' (Acts 1:11)”.

          Wayne A. Grudem provides further insight on the text of Daniel 7:13-14 being a messianic prophecy: 

          "Someone who had heavenly origin and who was given eternal rule over the whole world. The high priests did not miss the point of this passage when Jesus said, ‘Hereafter you will see the Son of man seated on the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven‘ (Matt. 26:46). The reference to Daniel 7:13-14 was unmistakable, and the high priest and his council knew that Jesus was claiming to be the eternal world ruler of heavenly origin spoken of in Daniel’s vision. Immediately they said, ‘He has uttered blasphemy…. He deserves death’ (Matt. 26:65-66).” (Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith, p. 238)

Exegetical Analysis Of 1 Corinthians 10:3-4

        “All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:3-4)

        In context, the Apostle Paul briefly brought into recollection events from the period of the Exodus. He alluded to the Jews who were freed from the authoritarian grasp of the Egyptian pharaoh and made to temporarily wander in the wilderness under the divine providence of God. They escaped only on the basis of divine power, which kept the waters parted for them to cross over into the Promised Land.

        Paul used Old Testament events as illustrations to drive home his point that the Corinthians should not be arrogant in their privileges and liberties that they have in Christ. They ought not succumb to sexual immorality and idolatry as did the Jews. Paul shows that God's plan of redemption provided through Christ functions as a continuous whole and is fulfilled in Him.

        The manna (i.e. “spiritual food”) and water which sprang forth from a rock smote by the rod of Moses (i.e. “spiritual drink”) were all supplied because of His supernatural intervention. The quoted rabbinic tradition gives us literary imagery of a flowing rock that lingered in the presence of the Israelites with the intention of enforcing the point that God continually guides our experiences. Christ is the source of all spiritual blessings.

        Paul calling the food and drink "spiritual" is not a denial of their reality or physicality. This same word is used in other contexts by him (Romans 7:14; 1 Corinthians 3:1; 15:44-46). Here, Paul is emphasizing God's presence, protection, and continued provision. The Spirit of God provided these things to the Jews in the wilderness.

        The rock reference is a typology of Jesus Christ, namely of His bold character and propitiatory sacrifice for the salvation of those who believe on Him. Him being spiritual food and spiritual drink means that He imparts life to us. All things consist because of Him. He is the same Lord and Rock who governed the Nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:3-4), and overthrew the people who put Him to the test (Deuteronomy 6:16; 1 Corinthians 10:9).