Sermon: Inveracity  [in-vuh-ras-i-tee]
by Chris Cumming

Some time ago we began a Bible studies series, “A survey of the Letters of Paul” and of all the letters Paul wrote, I chose 1 Timothy as our first endeavor.  Ever since that time, I am seeing the part divine inspiration played in its choice.  The theme of that book and the concerns Paul had about the Ephesus church at the time are manifesting themselves abundantly today.  Let us review what Paul was concerned about by reading the first seven verses of chapter 1.

1 Timothy 1:1-7
1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
2  Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
3  As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
4  Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
5  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
6  From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
7  Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

So Paul was concerned about certain individuals in the congregation teaching doctrines and beliefs not held by the church.  In verse 4 he calls some of these outside beliefs and doctrines fables.  A fable is a story not founded on fact, a legend or myth but more importantly and to the point, an untruth or falsehood.  This is what, “Inveracity” [in-vuh-ras-i-tee] means.

The word, “Inveracity” means lying, untruthfulness or an untruth.  “Inveracity” is a fancy word for fable and false doctrine.  Synonyms for, “inveracity” are fabrication, distortion, defamation, and deception.  Those who have swerved aside into vain jangling are bringing in fabrications and distortions with hopes of deceiving you and defaming both God and His Church.

Just the other day an individual in the church took some firstfruits out to lunch after the Sabbath.  After lunch and during conversation, the individual in question asked his guest what they thought about the Trinity.  Of course, the members stated that it was one among many false doctrines.  The individual then exclaimed, “But it’s true!!”

I am here to tell you, it is not true.  The purpose of my sermon today is to give you a refresher course in the fact that the doctrine of the Trinity is a false doctrine.  It is a fabrication and a blasphemy against God.  We will also answer the question about what action you take when someone approaches you with a false doctrine.

Let us handle this first.

Point 1:  Avoid anyone delivering false doctrines or religious arguments to you.
2 Timothy 2:23
But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.

Notice Barnes Notes on this:

Foolish and unlearned questions - The word “unlearned,” here, means “trifling; that which does not tend to edification; stupid.” ~Barnes Notes

False doctrines are stupid.  The Trinity doctrine is stupid.  Notice another commentary…

But foolish and unlearned questions avoid - Such as have no solid wisdom in them, and are foreign from the Gospel, the wisdom of God in a mystery, and are not useful and unedifying; such ought to be avoided, publicly and privately; they should not be started in the public ministry, nor attended to in private conversation; as being unworthy of the notice of a minister of the Gospel wise and learned, and useless to the church, and to his hearers. ~John Gill

False doctrines have no solid wisdom in them.  The Trinity doctrine is foreign to the Gospel.  It makes God a mystery.  We do not start these in the ministry of the ICG.  You should not attend to these things in private conversation.  They are useless.

Point 2:  Do not argue with those who bring these false doctrines.
Remember 1 Timothy 1:7...

1 Timothy 1:7 
Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

What other verses speak to this?

Romans 1:22
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

Matthew 15:14...Jesus speaking of the Pharisees
Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

1 Timothy 6:3-5
3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

What will become of these individuals who spread false doctrines if they do not repent?

2 Peter 2:12-13
12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you.

Point 3: God would never allow the church to be wrong on a major spiritual subject for so long.
The nature of God is about the most important subject in the entire Universe.  If we were wrong on the very nature of the Godhead, God would have corrected us millennia ago.
1 Corinthians 14:33
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Ephesians 4:11-12
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Ephesians 4:5-6
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

God guides us.
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Isaiah 48:17 
Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

Proverbs 16:9 
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Point 4:  God would never correct the church this way
Assuming there was something to be corrected in the church regarding a doctrine or something in the Law, He would never carry about this correction by anyone in a field church, where all false doctrines are first spread.  God communicated with Moses, not Korah.  God went to Peter rather than the Pharisees.  He went to Paul and not Alexander the Coppersmith.  He always goes first to the leader of the Work—the Headquarters of the Church.  God would never send individuals to you directly with the correction.  He clearly would never send you to change something you already knew to be false.  See the Minister Notebook piece, “How does God Correct the Church?”

Let us now discuss this false doctrine of the Trinity.  I will be gleaning a number of items from our Letter Answering Department.  First, however, I want to read our doctrine on the Holy Spirit.

DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
The Holy Spirit is the essence, power, mind and spiritual extension of God. God begets Christians as His sons through this Spirit. It strengthens a Christian spiritually, converts his mind and serves as an earnest or guarantee of eternal life. 

DOCTRINAL OVERVIEW
The Holy Spirit is described in the Bible as "the Spirit of God," "the Spirit of the Lord," "the Spirit of Jesus Christ," "the Spirit of truth," and "comforter" or "advocate." It is the power of God, the mind of God and the extended means by which God accomplishes His work throughout the universe. As such, the Holy Spirit is not a separate entity, it has no independent existence as an individual entity or person within the godhead. 

It was through His Spirit that God created the earth (Genesis. 1:2). It was through this Spirit that David received his moral strength (Psalm 51:10-13), and by it Elijah and Elisha-men with normal physical proclivities and weaknesses-were made into powerful prophets of God (2 Kings 2:9, 15). Even though these men and others had access to God's Spirit, it is also clear that they were among the relative few who in the Old Testament era were blessed with the privilege of actually having the mind and power of God work with or dwell within them. 

God uses His Spirit to accomplish all His work. Whether causing prophets to prophesy, kings to reign, craftsmen to create (Exodus 31:3), bodies to be moved (Ezekiel 3:12, 14) or people to keep His laws (Ezekiel 36:26-27), everything God does is through the power of His Spirit. 

God is spirit (John. 4:24); both members of the godhead ("Elohim"), Father and Son, are literally composed of spirit; they are wholly made of spiritual essence, in the same fashion as we are made of physical particles. Yet God the Father and Jesus Christ are separate beings: each maintains His own distinct identity and independent existence; and each, therefore, utilizes His own "Spirit," though both the Father's Spirit and Christ's Spirit are an integral part of the common Holy Spirit.  The being who later became Jesus Christ was the God who revealed Himself to the patriarchs and prophets and worked with them. When He utilized His mind, His nature and His power, He was doing so through His Holy Spirit which was the projection of His own unique, perfect spiritual power.  God the Father was unknown in the Old Testament; Jesus Christ came to reveal Him in the New. God the Father was the one who begot Jesus Christ; He did so through His Spirit, which is the same Spirit He begets spiritual children through today. Indeed, God the Father has retained to Himself the unique capacity to beget new spiritual beings. 

Under the New Covenant the Spirit of the Father has been made available in a universal way, as was explained by Peter on the day of Pentecost when the Church began (Acts 2:17-18). Before His death, Christ promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit, which then worked with them should be given to them and should actually be in them (John. 14:17). This "Comforter" should teach the disciples all things and remind them of all that Christ had said to them (John. 14:26). 

This same Spirit which was given to the disciples on the day of Pentecost is available to all whom God calls. Upon true repentance granted by God and upon true belief in Jesus Christ, one may be baptized and then receive God's Spirit through the laying-on-of-hands ceremony performed by God's ministers (Acts 2:38; 8:12-17). God further states that He gives His Holy Spirit only to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32). God's Holy Spirit is efficacious-it creates deep changes within the individual, actually converting or changing the type of mind that the person possesses. The Holy Spirit generates within Christians its very fruit, which "is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22-23). It encourages us through trials and empowers us to do the Work of God. 

Once a person receives the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, he must use it in order to grow in the knowledge and grace of God. God's Spirit gives Christians the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) to enable them to view life from a godly perspective instead of from a selfish one. It is this power that gives us the capacity to obey God. The deep mystery of the plan of God for mankind cannot be completely and totally understood without the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:7-10). 

Of even greater significance is the fact that through this Spirit we are actually "begotten" as sons of God and become members of the body of Christ-the Church (1 Corinthians 12).  I Corinthians 12:13 reads, For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one spirit.  The seed of this Holy Spirit, planted by God after baptism, grows and develops spiritually within us as we grow in obedience and submission to God's law. The Holy Spirit is dynamic: it flows from God to and through the Christian and is expressed in his attitudes and actions. The more we use God's Spirit the stronger our new spiritual life becomes. Finally, at the resurrection, this spiritual part of us becomes the totality of our composition and essence and overtakes the physical, so "that mortality [our physical essence] might be swallowed up of [spiritual] life" (2 Corinthians 5:4). 

God's Word reveals that the Holy Spirit is an "earnest"-a formal pledge or assurance-of eternal life which God has implanted within us making us sons. As long as this Spirit is living within us, we are actually sons of God and brothers of Christ. "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Romans 8:9). "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Romans 8:14). Indeed, the presence of the Holy Spirit is the best criterion to define the true Christian: it is his only real ratification, for one cannot be a true Christian without it. As long as we nurture the Holy Spirit, and continue to renew it daily within us (2 Corinthians 4:16) through prayer and diligent study of God's Word, then this earnest of God's Spirit is the absolute guarantee that we will be resurrected to spiritual life at Christ's return . (Ephesians 1:13-14).  ~end quote from the doctrine

In our Letter Answering Department, we have a letter on the Trinity answering the question, “Where did the Trinity Doctrine come from?  Here is an excerpt from that letter.

How It Developed

As The Church of the First Three Centuries says:
"We maintain that the doctrine of the Trinity was of gradual and comparatively late formation; that it had its origin in a source entirely foreign from that of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures; that it grew up, and was ingrafted on Christianity, through the hands of the Platonizing Fathers; that in the time of Justin, and long after, the distinct nature and inferiority of the Son were universally taught; and that only the first shadowy outline of the Trinity had then become visible."

Before Plato, triads, or trinities, were common in Babylon and Egypt.  And the efforts of churchmen to attract unbelievers in the Roman world led to the gradual incorporation of some of those ideas into Christianity.  This eventually led to acceptance of the belief that the Son and the holy spirit were equal to the Father.

The word "Trinity" was only slowly accepted.  It was in the latter half of the second century that Theophilus, bishop of

Antioch in Syria, wrote in Greek and introduced the word tri•as', meaning "triad," or "trinity."

Then the Latin writer, Tertullian, in Carthage, North Africa, introduced into his writings the word trinitas, which means "trinity." #  But the word tri•as' is not found in the inspired OT or Christian Greek Scriptures, and the word trinitas is not found in the Latin translation of the Bible called the Vulgate.  Neither expression was Biblical.  But the word "Trinity," based on pagan concepts, crept into the literature of the churches and after the fourth century became part of their dogma.

Thus, it was not that scholars examined the Bible thoroughly to see if such a doctrine was taught in it.  Instead, secular and church politics largely determined the doctrine.  In the book The Christian Tradition, author Jaroslav Pelikan notes:

 ". . . the nontheological factors in the debate, many of which seemed ready again and again to determine its outcome, only to be countermanded by other forces like unto themselves.  Doctrine often seemed to be the victim--or the product--of church politics and of conflicts of personality."

Yale professor E. Washburn Hopkins put it this way:

"The final orthodox definition of the trinity was largely a matter of church politics."

How unreasonable the Trinity doctrine is compared with the simple Bible teaching:

Deuteronomy 6:4
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.

1 Corinthians 8:6
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

This information shows the Trinity doctrine began its slow development over a period of centuries.  The Trinitarian ideas of Greek philosophers such as Plato, who lived several centuries before Christ, gradually crept into church teachings. ~end excerpt from the letter

So we see from history that this false doctrine was brought in later to the worldly churches.  It is a false doctrine that did not originate with God or His Word.

Let us now look at a verse of the Bible which is used by those believing in the Trinity.  This is another of our letters from the Letter Answering Department.

SUBJECT: 1 JOHN 5:7

QUESTION:  Does 1 John 5:7 belong in the Bible? Some say this verse proves God is a Trinity.

ANSWER:

This verse is spurious! It is a FRAUD -- a deliberate hoax-- foisted upon a deceived world centuries AFTER the inspired New Testament was written!

It is not part of the faith once delivered to the saints!

Those who cite this verse to prove the doctrine of the Trinity are either in gross ignorance or are out-and-out deceivers! The Bible nowhere teaches the pagan doctrine of a Trinity! 1 John 5:7 is properly deleted in modern translations, such as the Moffatt, Goodspeed, and the Revised Standard Version.  Where then did 1 John 5:7 come from? Why is it found today in the King James Bible? And who put it there?

The editors of the "Critical and Experimental Commentary" were forced to admit this verse is NOT found in ANY of the old manuscripts of the Bible and was not found in the manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate until as late as the eighth century! Notice their confession:

"The only Greek MSS., IN ANY FORM, which support the words, "in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one: and there are three that bear witness in earth," are the Montfortianus of Dublin, copied from the MODERN Latin Vulgate; the Revianus, copied from the Complutensian Polyglot; a MS. at Naples, with the words added IN THE MARGIN BY A RECENT HAND; Ottobonianus, 298, of the FIFTEENTH CENTURY, the Greek of which is a TRANSLATION of the accompanying Latin. ALL THE OLD VERSIONS OMIT THE WORDS. The OLDEST MSS. of the Vulgate OMIT THEM, the earliest Vulgate MS. which has them being Wizanburgensis, 99, of the EIGHTH CENTURY.

Even Adam Clarke confesses in his "Commentary": "But it is likely this verse is NOT GENUINE. It is wanting in every MS. Of this epistle written BEFORE the invention of printing, one excepted, the "Codex Montfortii", in Trinity College, Dublin.

Clarke continues, "It is wanting in both the Syriac, all the Arabic, Ethiopic, the Coptic, Sahidic, Armenian, Slavonian, etc., in a word, IN ALL THE ANCIENT VERSIONS but the "Vulgate"; and even of this version many of the most ancient and correct MSS. have it not. It is wanting also in ALL THE ANCIENT GREEK FATHERS; and in most even of the Latin."

How, then, did it creep into the text of the King James Version? Hear the voice of History:

1 John 5:7 "... is not contained in any Greek manuscript which was written earlier than the fifth century. It is not cited by ANY of the Greek ecclesiastical writers; nor by any of the early Latin fathers, even when the subjects upon which they treated would naturally have led them to appeal to its authority. IT IS THEREFORE evidently SPURIOUS; and was first cited (though not as it now reads) by Virgilius Tapsensis, a Latin writer of no credit, in the latter end of the fifth century, but by whom FORGED, is of no great moment, as its design must be obvious to all." (The Emphatic Diaglott)

Trinitarians grasp at 1 John 5:7 as a last straw to support their doctrine because NO OTHER SCRIPTURE IN ALL THE BIBLE CAN LEND CREDENCE to the pagan doctrine of a triune God!

The doctrine of "God in three Persons" is not Biblical! It originated in ancient paganism!

Babylonish and Oriental religions have LONG believed in triune divinities -- father, mother and child. The Egyptians worshiped Isis, Osiris, and Horus; the Babylonians deified the arch rebel Nimrod, his wife Semiramis, and her illegitimate son Horus, known also as Gilgamesh. The widespread worship of a "Trinity" traces all the way back to this original trio!

God is NOT a Trinity. God is a FAMILY (Ephesians 3:15), composed of the Father, and Jesus Christ, the first-born AMONG MANY BRETHREN (Romans 8:29). The Bible does not teach a "closed" God-head. Rather, true Christians can become Sons of God – very members of the GOD FAMILY -- if they are BORN AGAIN by His Spirit at the resurrection.

At the resurrection, Christians begotten by the Holy Spirit, are born into God's ruling Kingdom. We will become co-inheritors with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17)! We will be born of God as He is!  We will be glorified just like Jesus Christ -- we will be LIKE HIM, "for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2) -- as VERY GOD!

Satan has deluded the world with his diabolical trinitarian concept in order to HIDE the marvelous truth about MAN'S DESTINY! ~end of letter



Here is another letter speaking to a verse used by trinity believers:



SUBJECT:  Matthew 3:16 --- Holy Spirit --- Trinity

QUESTION:  Does Matthew 3:16 support the idea of the trinity?

ANSWER:

No it does not.

The verse:

Matthew 3:16-17

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

In Matthew 3:16, 17 we read, ".....the spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him. And lo, a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."

Some say that it was the Spirit - the third person of the Godhead that actually spoke, proving the Spirit is a literal being.

Let us assume that view is correct. Do you see what it would mean? The Holy Spirit would then be the literal FATHER of Christ (see also chapter 1:20), and all through His ministry He then talked and prayed to the WRONG Father!

Read verse 17 again. It says, "A voice," not  "THE voice of the spirit" or  "THE voice of the Father." It was  "A voice from heaven" that spoke. To say it was the voice of the Holy Spirit is just an assumption by men; this verse cannot prove such a claim. You try to find the verse that says the Holy Spirit has a mouth or literally talks.

Was it the Father speaking these words? No!  Not even the Father, because Christ Himself said, ".....You have neither heard His voice at ANY time, nor seen His shape" (John 5:37).

There is not one verse in the entire Bible that shows God the Father has ever spoken or showed Himself to mankind.

Someone will say, but this voice spoke in the first-person tense.  It must have been the Father or Spirit.  Not necessarily!

In John 12:28 we read: "Father, glorify your name (Christ talking to the Father). Then came there A voice from heaven (notice, A voice, not THE voice of God) saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." This voice spoke in the first-person tense.

Now, did the people say, "That was God speaking" or  "That was the voice of the Holy Spirit"?  No!  Read verse 29.

    "The people, therefore, that stood by and heard it said that it thundered. Others said, an angel spoke to him."

It is possible to speak on behalf of someone else and speak in the first-person tense. Someone representing a higher authority can speak on behalf of that authority in the first-person tense.

In passing, notice in Matthew 3:16 the shape of the spirit of God was like a dove. The shape of a dove is a long, long way from being the shape of a man. ~end of letter

Our next letter from the Letter Answering Department is a list of a number of rhetorical counter questions to trinity believers.

SUBJECT:  Trinity

QUESTION:  I know that the trinity is an unsound doctrine.  I understand that there are a series of good questions, generated from the Bible that show the trinity to be unsound.  Do you have this series of questions?

ANSWER:

Yes we do.