Michael Heiser — Trinitarianism | Godhead Thinking

Dr. Michael S. Heiser answers your questions about the Bible:

• Thoughts on the “eternal Sonship of Christ” doctrine?
• Can a person who's Binitarian—and NOT Trinitarian—still be
considered a Believer in Christ?

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[duriuswulkins]

I truly do hope people who are stuck in the “oneness” doctrines, Sabellianism, modalism, and Arianism can come out of those beliefs through this video.

[JCATG]

As an Evangelical Christian with a predominantly Reformed view of the faith, I still enjoy Dr. Michael Heiserʼs lectures on Scripture and Christian doctrine. It is undeniable that he teaches with a high view of the Bible and with respect to the historical doctrines that most Evangelical Christians hold today.

Praise God for this topic on Trinitarianism and Godhead thinking. He was able to navigate the discussion of the said topic carefully without compromising on the difficult parts of the query.

At the end of the day, what matters the most is that we do not stray away from the biblical teaching of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and that we depend upon His finished work on the cross and rely on His grace daily.

Thank you so much for this upload. Keep it up, Houseform Apologetics! I am always a fan of your YouTube channel and website.

[MainPointMinistries]

Thanks Dr Heiser for providing much needed clarity to your Trinitarian followers on whether belief in the Doctrine of the Trinity is Salvific. And as you so eloquently said, "It Is Not"!! Maybe this speech will allow them to experience a little humility, so that they will stop judging other Christians based on this trivial issue. Our belief in the atoning life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is what makes us believers and fellow brothers (and sisters) in Christ, NOT whether someone believes in the Trinity or not.

I couldn't thank you enough Dr Heiser for this courageous statement you've made 🙏

[robertpillowjr.]

I love listening to you. You have opened my eyes to things I never dreamed of about God and Salvation and a relationship with God Almighty!

[abrotherinchrist]

I find it absolutely baffling that Christianity is still having this discussion. Paul said, "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and age-long judgment." Surely, the nature of the relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are elementary teachings, yet here we are two millennia later still arguing over who the Son was/is. Paul certainly knew. John certainly knew. Why don't we have a consensus then? Some might say the consensus was the Council of Nicea but they did exactly what we are doing today. They gathered hundreds of bishops from across the Roman Empire to argue over who the Son was. Finally, they devised a creed that I would call vague at best and declared the truth to be heresy. Surely Christianity has gone the way Yahshua, Paul and John warned us about.

[Apostolicfaith]

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
— Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”
— Isaiah 12:2 (KJV)

“And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
— Isaiah 25:9 (KJV)

Isaiah 43 (KJV)
¹⁰ Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
¹¹ I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

Isaiah 45 (KJV)
²¹ Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
²² Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

“For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”
— Isaiah 54:5 (KJV)

Psalms 22 (KJV)
¹⁶ For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
¹⁸ They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”
— Zechariah 12:10 (KJV)

“And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.”
— Isaiah 59:16 (KJV)

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
— Micah 5:2 (KJV)

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, ”
— Luke 1:68 (KJV)

John 1 (KJV)
¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
¹⁴ And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth.

“I and my Father are one.”
— John 10:30 (KJV)

“And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.”
— John 12:45 (KJV)

John 14 (KJV)
⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
⁷ If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
⁸ Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
⁹ Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”
— John 8:58 (KJV)

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:4 (KJV)

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:6 (KJV)

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:19 (KJV)

Colossians 1 (KJV)
¹⁵ Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
¹⁶ For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
¹⁷ And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
— Hebrews 1:3 (KJV)

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
— Colossians 2:9 (KJV)

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
— 1 John 3:16 (KJV)

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
— Acts 20:28 (KJV)

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
— 1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
— Matthew 28:19 (KJV)

“And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
— Luke 24:47 (KJV)

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
— Acts 2:38 (KJV)

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
— Acts 4:12 (KJV)

“But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”
— Acts 8:12 (KJV)

“(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)”
— Acts 8:16 (KJV)

“And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”
— Acts 10:48 (KJV)

“When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
— Acts 19:5 (KJV)

“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
— Acts 22:16 (KJV)

“I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
— Isaiah 45:23 (KJV)

“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
— Romans 14:11 (KJV)

Philippians 2 (KJV)
¹⁰ That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
¹¹ And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

[duriuswulkins]

Matthew Luke and Mark mention (paraphrase) “any blasphemy uttered against the Father and the Son will be forgiven, but Blasphemy of the Holy Ghost will not be.” All three members of the Trinity are mentioned. How can one blaspheme that which is not God?

[darlenejames]

Dr. Heiser, I love you, always take us back to the Word. God the Father gave us God the Son who left us God the Holy Spirit b/c God knows we'll never make by ourselves.

[dldenton]

Wow! The subject of Trinity or no Trinity is a hot one. It has gone on and on for centuries. One side has their scriptures proving such and such and the other side has theirs. It is such a waste of emotions and time because after all these centuries there hasn’t been a consensus . I wonder if we could just all agree there is God, a Son and Holy Spirit and leave the rest to be answered in full after the resurrection? After all I doubt if any of us can have a full understanding till then anyway.

[lw]

The scripture says that whoever has the Son has the Father
BUT
the person that does not have the Son does not have the Father.

I interpret that to mean that if you have Jesus then you have the Father (you are saved)
BUT
if you believe in the Father but reject Christ then you do not have the Father
and you are not saved.

Jews who reject Christ, are they saved? They have the Father (at least a belief in Him)
but if they don't have Christ are they saved? I think not.

Muslims believe in one God ( I think a false god really)
but they reject Christ. Are they saved.
Assume for the sake of argument they have the Father, they don't have Christ.
Are they saved? I think not.

The scripture goes on to say that those who don't have the Son are antichrist.

We may not have the vocabulary to express our Trinity belief but it is critical that we have Christ.
Can someone be born again and be confused about the nature of the Godhead?
God knows.

[FREEDOMSB]

I agree but Paul in Galatians was dealing with false teachers. Who were preaching a different Jesus and a different gospel. If you have the wrong Jesus than you have the wrong gospel simple. Saying you believe in Jesus is one thing but when you ask the question " well who is Jesus?" Then that person defines what they mean. Then you realize that your talking about the same person or a different person.

[dw-rhfb]

The trinity says God is 3 persons, but a person is comprised of a body, mind, and spirit.

A person has 3 elements. The trinity says the 3 elements of a person are actually 3 persons. The trinity is false.

God is one person like we are...and we are made in His image.

Grow a brain.

[netherlandhomestead]

“Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God:

and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

[ETHANGELIST]

I would agree with most of this except the Arian part. Arians have a different Jesus than the Bible. Plus I would add that I have grave concern for a binitarian especially if they continually deny the distinct personhood of the Holy Spirit. Can they really have the Spirit of Truth if they deny His true identity?

[RalphHumphries-thym]

John 3:16 must say Jesus so loved himself that he gave himself for himself that whosoever believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life, and trinitarians don't understand why the spirit is God himself and his Son and not a third person, so be it

[JoseMRk]

So
Does that mean the mormons we'll see paradise? Cause they believe jesus also is lord

[BelieveinChrist]

If you reject the Trinity, you’re rejecting the true God and believing in a false god. I would say that’s pretty damning.

[bobdurham]

I still think the Godhead is a Quadrinity. Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Holy ghost. This is not an issue of salvation. Salvation is solely based on loving God, and loving others, like you love yourself. Especially those with different doctrinal perspectives on certian subjects. Like I just posted. Peace....

[geraldjohnson]

Thinking that lf you know the LORD God Jesus, You will Understand How God is divided in more than One. Being Present in All that Believe in the Living Son(Yahh)

[honeyspoonbeewrangler]

Not all are children of God just because they say they know Jesus Christ....ask a Mormon, they believe they have the theology theology and doctrine is important, and articulating is important. How can you bring truth to others if you don't understand yourself?!