Other Articles by William Wachtel

Colossians 1:15-20


Pre-existence or


Pre-eminence?

Knowing The LORD

The Form of God

Page 4- Christian Monotheism: Reality or Illusion?

John begins his Gospel by stating that "the Word was God" (1:1) and that "the Word was made flesh" (1:14). Many have seen in this a support for the consubstantiality of the Word with God. But with all that has now been shown regarding the functional and relational status of Christ walking as Deity upon the earth, these texts do not disturb the purest and strictest monotheism. To read into the term Logos, as John uses it, the speculations of the philosophers is to ignore the background of the Septuagint usage (as in Psalms 33:6, 9; 107:20; 147:15-19) and to disregard the warnings we have already seen in the New Testament as to the "wisdom of men" (cf. 1 Cor. 1:17-21; 2:1-5).[8]

Paul wrote that Jesus Christ was "in the form of God" (Phil. 2:6). The NIV gratuitously renders this, "being in very nature God." Discussion has raged over the meaning of morphe (here translated “form”), much of it based on its usage in classical Greek. Koine usage, however, should be taken into account. Dr. Kenneth S. Wuest, an acknowledged trinitarian, admits: "The word 'form' is sometimes interpreted here as referring to a station in life, a position one holds, one's rank. And that is an approximation of morphe in this context. The word is used in this way when a certain grade in school is spoken of as a form."[9]  Since the subject of this passage is the historical man Christ Jesus (verse 5)--not one who was to become Christ Jesus-we must ask ourselves whether Christ walking the earth and doing the things Paul describes in verses 6 through 8 did so in the status of Deity. We have already seen that this is just the way the Gospels, and in particular John, depict the Son of God. It is as though He were God in person walking the earth. And yet, ontologically, He is always kept distinct from God-not consubstantial, not co-equal, not co-eternal. Biblical monotheism, thus, is always preserved.

The Book of Hebrews, in 1:8, 9, quotes from Psalm 45:6, 7 and seems to call Christ "God." We have seen that this need not be taken in an ontological sense, but with abundant precedent can be taken in a functional and relational sense, thereby remaining in harmony with the Bible's consistent monotheism. It is worthy of note that some versions and exegetes understand the Psalmist and the writer of Hebrews to be saying, "Your throne is the throne of God," or else "God is your throne."[10]  The former suggests that God shares His rulership with His Son, a theme developed in greater detail elsewhere.[11] The latter implies that God is the source of His Son's authority, also an important theme.[12]  It is certain that in verse 9 a distinction is made between the God who does the anointing and the individual who is anointed.

V. THE HOLY SPIRIT

A final problem concerns the nature of the Holy Spirit. Trinitarianism sees the Holy Spirit as a distinct person of the Godhead. The Jews, however, whose doctrine of God Jesus espoused, considered the Ruah ha Kodesh as "the Divine spirit; spirit emanating from God .... It is more or less synonymous with God (Isa. 63:10) or else signifies His sustaining and inspiring presence (Isa. 63:11; Psa. 51:13)."[13] The New Testament data on the Holy Spirit can certainly be understood in the same manner. It is the trinitarian historian Philip Schaff who reminds us that as late as the Council of Constantinople, in 381, the bishops who came together to decide the nature of the Holy Spirit were quite uncertain and divided about the matter, many of them not believing the Holy Spirit to be a person at all.[14]  It seems strange that as late as 381 the church could hold such diverse views on so basic a doctrine if in fact the apostolic writings had really taught the personality of the Holy Spirit! Rather, it appears that just as in the case of the gradual development of the doctrine that Christ was consubstantial with the Father, so also it came to be felt that the Holy Spirit must be viewed as a person and as the third member of the Godhead.

VI. CONCLUSION

To us, these developments were totally unnecessary and unscriptural and in fact violated Biblical monotheism. We conclude, therefore, that "Christian Monotheism" is a reality when "Christian" is understood on the basis of the explicit teachings of Jesus and His apostles, but that it is an illusion--and only an illusion--when "Christian" is understood as embodying the later creedal definitions of trinitarianism. Christian believers must decide for themselves where the real authority is found for the faith they hold: the Scriptures themselves, or else the later developing "tradition"!

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