ELLEN WHITE AND THE GODHEAD (TRINITY & ANTITRINITY)
2 Chronicles 20:20 Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”
“Men may get up scheme after scheme, and the enemy will seek to seduce souls from the truth, but all who believe that the Lord has spoken through Sister White, and has given her a message, will be safe from the many delusions that will come in these last days.” {3SM 83.5}
THREE PERSONS
There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit– those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ. . . . {SpTB07 63.2}
“The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption. In order fully to carry out this plan, it was decided that Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, should give Himself an offering for sin.” {CH 222.2}
“The eternal Godhead–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost–is involved in the action required to make assurance to the human agent, . . . confederating the heavenly powers with the human that man may become, through heavenly efficiency, partakers of the divine nature and workers together with Christ.” {UL 148.4}
“When we have accepted Christ, and in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit have pledged ourselves to serve God, the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit–the three dignitaries and powers of heaven–pledge themselves that every facility shall be given to us if we carry out our baptismal vows to “come out from among them, and be . . . separate, . . . and touch not the unclean thing.” When we are true to our vows, He says, “I will receive you” (MS 85, 1901). {6BC 1075.8}
“Here is where the work of the Holy Ghost comes in, after your baptism. You are baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. You are raised up out of the water to live henceforth in newness of life–to live a new life. You are born unto God, and you stand under the sanction and the power of the three holiest Beings in heaven, who (all three beings) are able to keep you from falling… When I feel oppressed and hardly know how to relate myself toward the work that God has given me to do, I just call upon the three great Worthies, and say: You know I cannot do this work in my own strength. You must work in me, and by me, and through me, sanctifying my tongue, sanctifying my spirit, sanctifying my words, and bringing me into a position where my spirit shall be susceptible to the movings of the Holy Spirit of God upon my mind and character. And this is the prayer that every one of us may offer.” {1SAT 367.3}
CHRIST IS THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD FROM ALL ETERNITY
“The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person (Not from eternity being in Father waiting to be begotten as is claimed), yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by him as his right. This was no robbery of God. “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way,” he declares, “before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth; while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth.” {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 7} (Bracket supplied)
“From all eternity Christ was united with the Father, and when He took upon Himself human nature, He was still one with God.” –The Signs of the Times, Aug. 2, 1905, p. 10.
“When Christ passed within the heavenly gates, He was enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels. As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in rich currents, and Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had with (not in) the Father from all eternity.–The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 38, 39. {7ABC 441.1} (Bracket Supplied)
“Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore.” — The Review and Herald, April 5, 1906, p. 8. {7ABC 441.6}
NOTE: The antitrinity doctrine teaches that He is only divine and eternal by virtue of divine inheritance and not in actual reality. They further teach that just as the stone of Daniel 2 was cut from a Rock so Christ proceeded from the Father sometime in eternity past by a mysterious process. The Bible and Spirit of Prophecy teaches that Christ was WITH GOD not merely IN GOD from ALL ETERNITY.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A LIVING PERSON AND IS THE THIRD PERSON OF THE GODHEAD NOT JUST A POWER OR AN INFLUENCE PROCEEDING FROM THE FATHER & THE SON
“Christ determined that when he ascended from this earth, he would bestow a gift on those who had believed on him, and those who should believe on him. What gift could he bestow rich enough to signalize and grace his ascension to the mediatorial throne? It must be worthy of his greatness and his royalty. He determined to give his representative, the third person of the Godhead. This gift could not be excelled. He would give all gifts in one, and therefore the divine Spirit, that converting, enlightening and sanctifying power, would be his donation.” {SW, November 28, 1905 par. 2}
“The prince of the power of evil can only be held in check by the power of God in the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.” {SpTA10 37.1}
“We have been brought together as a school, and we need to realize that the Holy Spirit, who is as much a person as God is a person, is walking through these grounds, that the Lord God is our keeper, and helper. He hears every word we utter and knows every thought of the mind.” –Ms 66, 1899, p. 4. (Talk, April 15, 1899).
“The Holy Spirit always leads to the written word. The Holy Spirit is a person; for He beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. When this witness is borne, it carries with it its own
evidence. At such times we believe and are sure that we are the children of God. What strong evidence of the power of truth we can give to believers and unbelievers when we can voice the words of John, “We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” {20MR 68.5}
“The Holy Spirit has a personality, else He could not bear witness to our spirits and with our spirits that we are the children of God. He must also be a divine person, else He could not search out the secrets which lie hidden in the mind of God. “For what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man, which is in him; even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”–Ms 20, 1906. {20MR 69.1}
“The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, in Christ’s name. He personifies Christ, yet is a distinct personality. We may have the Holy Spirit if we ask for it and make it [a] habit to turn to and trust in God rather than in any finite human agent who may make mistakes.” {20MR 324.2}
NOTE: According to antitrinitarian school of thought Christ is the Comforter, and thus when He said, “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you” (John 14:18) it would be simply Christ assuming another form unseen to men. Well, that refutes several other logical things He said:
1. He said He would send Him, He didn’t say He would send Himself (John 15:26). 2. He said He is ANOTHER comforter (John 14:16) making it clear that it is not Himself. Christ is the
comforter and the Holy Spirit would take the same office too (John 14:16, Acts 9:31). Even the Father is a Comforter (2 Cor. 1:3-4, 2 Thes. 2:16-17 check the Strong’s Concordance for the Greek roots). Just as God sent His Son, who was equal and distinct from Himself and it could be said “God with us.” So in sending the Holy Spirit who was equal but distinct from Himself, Christ was to fulfill His promise, “I will come to you.” 3. Christ even showed Himself and the Holy Ghost as distinct by His very statement, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” John 16:7. So Christ must go away, He must depart before the Comforter is sent. Surely this cant be the same person. According to the antitrinitarian thought that should read like this: “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, I will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send myself unto you.” Doesn’t make sense.
The Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit are 3 separate and distinct PERSONS.
4. The Bible teaches that just as God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, so Christ
through the Holy Spirit continued the work of redemption on earth after He went away. Acts 1:1-2, 2 Cor. 5:19. Where Christ was, God was there, for He came to represent God the Father. In like manner where the Spirit is, The Father & The Son are, for He is Their Representative. (John 16:13-15, John 14:16)
“Had God the Father come to our world and dwelt among us, humbling Himself, veiling His glory, that humanity might look upon Him, the history that we have of the life of Christ would not have been
changed. . . . In every act of Jesus, in every lesson of His instruction, we are to see and hear and recognize God. In sight, in hearing, in effect, it is the voice and movements of the Father.” {TMK 338.4}
Just us in beholding Christ men were to behold the Father, so in the working of the Holy Spirit we are to see the Father and the Son.
Once again, this is a fundamental statement of faith and doctrine: “The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, in Christ’s name. He personifies Christ, yet is a distinct personality. We may have the Holy Spirit if we ask for it and make it [a] habit to turn to and trust in God rather than in any finite human agent who may make mistakes.” {20MR 324.2}
Here are other statements:
“The Holy Spirit is to be prayed for, trusted in, believed in.” {10MR 98.2} How can this be just a power to be trusted in and believed in?
“The Spirit had been waiting for the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. For ten days the disciples offered their petitions for the outpouring of the Spirit, and Christ in heaven added His intercession.” {ST, December 1, 1898 par. 5}
OF CHANGES AND INSERTIONS
The claim has been made by antitrinitarians to the effect that some quotations were inserted by the helpers or secretaries under the influence of certain brethren (who were in favor of the Trinitarian view of the Godhead) during the compilation of the book “Evangelism.” This claim not only ends here but has also been raised on certain bible verses which they claim were added later such as Matthew 28:19 and 1 John 5:7. How shall we answer to these claims:
1. It is not only the compilation of the book Evangelism that speaks clearly of the “three living
persons of the heavenly trio,” other books originally written by Ellen White speak clearly on the issue. Here are just two of the many samples:
“The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption.” {CH 222.2}
“The three powers of the Godhead have pledged their might to carry out the purpose that God had in mind when he gave to the world the unspeakable gift of his Son.” {RH, July 18, 1907 par. 3}
Ellen White herself under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit makes use of Matthew 28:19 severally making it impossible to say it was inserted. If it is same Holy Spirit working through her as well as the authors of the sacred canon, then surely we expect the Spirit to be consistent and to separate wheat from chaff by not making use of man’s supplied text. Here are a few samples again:
“We are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and these three great, infinite powers are unitedly pledged to work in our behalf if we will cooperate with them. We are buried with Christ in baptism as an emblem of His death.” {LHU 109.2}
“The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead (Not Christ Himself in Spirit form), making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons of the heavenly trio. In the name of these three powers,–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will cooperate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.” {BTS, March 1, 1906 par. 2}
2. A claim of such a great magnitude is casts doubt upon God’s ability to preserve His word. One
proof of the Bible’s inspiration has been its survival under the enemy’s determined attacks. God has preserved His word and all that is necessary for our salvation has remained intact. If He has preserved His word for thousands of years, how come He has failed with the Spirit of Prophecy for just less than a century?
Of preserving sacred writings David says, “Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” Psa 12:7. We know that the protection of His word and treasure is a charge that on Himself He laid.
3. This claim if true, removes confidence in the trustworthiness of God’s word as the revealer of
doctrines and definer of error. Those who see the bible as infiltrated are in danger of neglecting God’s word in fear of man’s interference. Shall we study God’s word with a skeptic veil, doing the work of a spiritual detective or shall we come in confidence to search the scriptures to get wisdom that will make us wise unto salvation. Shall we then begin checking to see what is inspired and what is not inspired? When the unlearned but godly woman studies the bible in her home, isn’t God to blame for misleading her by allowing her to study and believe the additions of skeptics and heathens?
“Some sit in judgment on the Scriptures, declaring that this or that passage is not inspired, because it does not strike their minds favorably. They cannot harmonize it with their ideas of philosophy and science, “falsely so called” (1 Timothy 6:20). Others for different reasons question portions of the Word of God. Thus many walk blindly where the enemy prepares the way. Now, it is not the province of any man to pronounce sentence upon the Scriptures, to judge or condemn any portion of God’s Word. When one presumes to do this, Satan will create an atmosphere for him to breathe which will dwarf spiritual growth. When a man feels so very wise that he dares to dissect God’s Word, his wisdom is, with God, counted foolishness.” {1SM 42.3}
“When men venture to criticize the Word of God, they venture on sacred, holy ground, and had better fear and tremble and hide their wisdom as foolishness. God sets no man to pronounce judgment on His Word, selecting some things as inspired and discrediting others as uninspired. The testimonies have been treated in the same way; but God is not in this.”–Letter 22, 1889. {1SM 23.1}
This claim of changed writings has been the reason many no longer read the inspired messages from the Spirit of Prophecy. How can we now know which books of Ellen White or which verses of scripture have not been tampered with? Who shall be our guide to identify them? Scholars and archaeologists? David asked, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psa 11:3.
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa 8:20. This is to be our yardstick and rule. All doctrine is to be brought to the test of the scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy, if one text of scripture seems to be in contradiction to the rest of the bible then it is an opportunity to study prayerfully and know why God allowed it to be part of the sacred cannon. He will often reveal that which was not apparently in harmony to be quite instructive.
PIONEER’S WRITINGS Antitrinitarians have picked on certain statements of Ellen White in which she said we are to republish the truths the pioneers taught and so a departure in belief on the doctrine of the God by the church today has been termed “the omega of apostasy.” Here are some of the quotations for such assertions:
“We are to repeat the words of the pioneers in our work, who knew what it cost to search for the truth as for hidden treasure, and who labored to lay the foundation of our work. They moved forward step by step under the influence of the Spirit of God. One by one these pioneers are passing away. The word given me is, Let that which these men have written in the past be reproduced.” {RH, May 25, 1905 par. 21}
The question is: Were the pioneers infallible or fallible in all their positions? “We have many lessons to learn, and many, many to unlearn. God and heaven alone are infallible. Those who think that they will never have to give up a cherished view, never have occasion to change an opinion, will be disappointed. As long as we hold to our own ideas and opinions with determined persistency, we cannot have the unity for which Christ prayed.” {CW 37.1}
Ellen White warned that Seventh Day Adventists were not to remove a pin of the foundation stone:
“When men come in who would move one pin or pillar from the foundation which God has established by His Holy Spirit, let the aged men who were pioneers in our work speak plainly, and let those who are dead speak also by the reprinting of their articles in our periodicals.” {MR760 10.5}
Was she talking about the truth about the godhead? The answer lies in the answer to the question, what is the foundation of our faith that God led the pioneers to lay? Are we built upon a better understanding of the Godhead? No!
“In a representation which passed before me, I saw a certain work being done by medical missionary workers. Our ministering brethren were looking on, watching what was being done, but they did not seem to understand. The foundation of our faith, which was established by so much prayer, such earnest searching of the Scriptures, was being taken down, pillar by pillar. Our faith was to have nothing to rest upon–the sanctuary was gone, the atonement was gone.” {PaM 29.2}
So the foundation was the sanctuary doctrine revealing the atonement of Christ through His work on the cross as a lamb and in the heaven as our high priest. It wasn’t built upon the Godhead. Here is even a more clearer line:
“The sanctuary question is the foundation of our faith.” {4MR 248.3}
“As the great pillars of our faith have been presented, the Holy Spirit has borne witness to them, and especially is this so regarding the truths of the sanctuary question. Over and over again the Holy Spirit has in a marked manner endorsed the preaching of this doctrine. But today, as in the past, some will be led to form new theories and to deny the truths upon which the Spirit of God has placed His approval.” {4MR 249.1}
“The scripture which above all others had been both the foundation and the central pillar of the advent faith was the declaration: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14. These had been familiar words to all believers in the Lord’s soon coming. By the lips of thousands was this prophecy repeated as the watchword of their faith.” GC 409.1}
NOTE: The foundation which was laid by our pioneers was that of the sanctuary doctrine. This is what we should cry about when we see ministers trashing with philosophical hammers. Ellen White even told us the subjects upon which we are to concentrate: “But such subjects as the sanctuary, in connection with the 2300 days, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, are perfectly calculated to explain the past Advent movement and show what our present position is, establish the faith of the doubting, and give certainty to the glorious future. These, I have frequently seen, were the principal subjects on which the messengers should dwell.” {EW 63.2}
Why are our people running away from direct counsel to make a test out of the antitrinity teaching?
WHAT IS THE TRINITY THAT OUR PIONEERS REJECTED? Our pioneers were called to the stage of action just after the dark ages, the trinity doctrine as was taught by the churches of their time was taken from distorted view of the personality of God as taught by the Roman Catholic Church and that inherited from medieval cultures.
Here is the Catholic Trinity: “The Father begets the Son, and the Son proceeds from the Father. The Father and Son breathe forth the Holy Ghost, and He proceeds from Them, as from one Source.” “One God in Three Persons,” My Catholic Faith: A Manual of Religion, Louis Laravoire Morrow, Bishop of Krishnagar, p. 30.
This is what Catholicism teaches and isn’t it curious that it sounds similar to what antitrinitarians teach while claiming the church has embraced Catholicism?
“God the Father eternally knows Himself, and continues to know Himself [copula; that is, copulates with Himself], and continues to know Himself, and thus continues to bring forth the Son in a
continual birth. God the Father and God the Son continue to love each other, and their delight in each other continues to bring forth the Spirit of Love, God the Holy Ghost.” Ibid, p. 31
Don’t you see why our pioneers were right to reject such a view of God?
“The Son proceeds from the Father by an act of the intellect and this is termed ‘Eternal Generation,’ by which we mean not only that there never was a time when the Father existed without generating the Son, but also that the act of Generation is a continuous act.” The manual teaches that there could be no separation between the Father and the Son on earth, since this would interrupt the act of generation. Thus the Son would not exist, which would mean that the Father would not exist. Since they are of one essence, neither the Father nor the Son could exist separately from the other.” (Alfred Mortimer, Catholic Faith and Practice)
“There are three Persons, but only one Being.” Ibid, p. 33
Essentially the Catholic Trinity holds:
(1) The Son came out of the Father, beginning long ago; so He is not eternal. (2) The Holy Spirit has no separate existence, but only as He keeps coming out of the others. (3) God is one in person. This is what the pioneers refuted and warred against. Let us see what Joseph Bates said about the above catholic understanding: “Respecting the trinity, I concluded that it was an impossibility for me to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, was also the Almighty God, the Father, one and the same being.” The Autobiography of Elder Joseph , 1868, p. 204
James White also rejected the Catholic view thus: “When it can be proved that the object of the prayer of the Son of God (Referring to John 17:21-22) was, that the disciples might be one body with twelve heads, then it can be shown that we have a Deity which has one body and three heads.” James White, Review & Herald, March 11, 1880.
This is not what Seventh Day Adventism teaches today. The Son and the Father are distinct persons. “The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father.” {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 7}
Ellen White not only corrected the Catholic Trinitarian position, she also corrected the misconceptions the pioneers had concerning this doctrine and many others.
Uriah Smith wrote: “But while as the Son, He does not possess a co-eternity of past existence with the Father, the beginning of His existence, as the begotten of the Father, antedates the entire work of creation, in relation to which he stands as joint creator with God.” John 1:3, Heb. 1:2 Uriah Smith, Daniel and The Revelation 1897 edition p. 430.
Many of our pioneers subscribed to this view, but the prophet of God was not afraid to speak the truth against such a view of Christ who had a beginning.
“The world was made by him, “and without him was not anything made that was made.” If Christ made all things, he existed before all things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one need be left in doubt. Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore.” {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 6}
“From all eternity Christ was united with the Father, and when He took upon Himself human nature, He was still one with God.” The Signs of the Times, Aug. 2, 1905, p. 10.
Shall we believe the pioneers such as Uriah Smith or shall we believe Ellen White writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? May be we ought to consider something else worthy of our notice.
HOW DID THE PIONEERS ARRIVE AT THE FOUNDATION OF OUR FAITH?
Isaiah 8:20 “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.”
Our pioneers were only right and to be followed to the extent to which they agreed with the scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy.
“We are to be established in the faith, in the light of the truth given us in our early experience. At that time one error after another pressed in upon us; ministers and doctors brought in new doctrines. We would search the Scriptures with much prayer, and the Holy Spirit would bring the truth to our minds. Sometimes whole nights would be devoted to searching the Scriptures, and earnestly asking God for guidance. Companies of devoted men and women assembled for this purpose. The power of God would come upon me, and I was enabled clearly to define what is truth and what is error.” {GW 302.2}
As she was enabled to define error back then so does she define what is truth and what is error today to those who accept to be corrected and led.
2 points are worth noting concerning the work of our pioneers:
1. The foundation that they were used of God to establish was not their belief in the Godhead but
rather on the sanctuary message and the three angels’ messages. These are severally mentioned as pillars, waymarks and foundations (Refer to RH, Nov. 27, 1883, par. 9 &10, Counsels to Writers and Editors (1946), Chapter 3. “The Foundations, Pillars and Landmarks”) 2. Whenever they studied, they came to a place of theological bottleneck where they could not
agree, God would enable Ellen Harmon to “DEFINE what is truth and what is error” through divine Revelation (often in vision). After the vision, all forsook their cherished views and came into harmony. I believe that role remains today. Her writings still define truth. (Refer to SpM 483.3)
One of the reasons that has spread the controversy on the Godhead is the unwillingness of the parties involved to lay down their opinions at the feet of truth as defined in the Spirit of Prophecy. The pioneers depended on the Spirit’s revelation to Ellen White to settle their theological differences. When the Spirit spoke, they were all silenced and united. None insisted on their opinion beyond divine
revelation. O for that humility of heart that would let go of cherished ideas and opinions when truth is defined by His messengers!
Let me finish from where we started:
“Men may get up scheme after scheme, and the enemy will seek to seduce souls from the truth, but all who believe that the Lord has spoken through Sister White, and has given her a message, will be safe from the many delusions that will come in these last days.” Letter 50, 1906. {3SM 83.5}
Compiled by Ev. Moses Wasonga, May 31, 2020
Please send your comments and critique to mosewasonga@gmail.com
