{"id":174,"date":"2007-10-30T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2007-10-30T14:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/church-history\/cogscs-david-antion-against-unitarianism\/"},"modified":"2007-10-30T06:41:40","modified_gmt":"2007-10-30T14:41:40","slug":"cogscs-david-antion-against-unitarianism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/church-history\/cogscs-david-antion-against-unitarianism\/","title":{"rendered":"COGSC’s David Antion Against Unitarianism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"History<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although the following was from his personal Guardian Ministries site, David Antion is affiliated with <\/em>COGSC<\/em><\/a>, hence its use in the title of today’s post:<\/em><\/p>\n

I have listened to, read and studied the arguments of the \u201cOne God\u201d presenters or as I have renamed their theory: \u201cGod Can Only Be One Person.\u201d\u00a0 The purpose of Guardian Ministries is to \u201cguard the treasure\u201d of the New Testament \u2013 the \u201ctruth of the Gospel.\u201d\u00a0 After considerable study and analysis I have presented a 13-sermon series in answer to these arguments…<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

Truthfully, the New Testament is very cautious to avoid any hint of polytheism.\u00a0 There is only one God \u2013 the Old Testaments says so, and Jesus said so (Mark 12:29-30).\u00a0 But, the man Jesus is a unique man.\u00a0 He was a sinless man according to the New Testament (1 Pet. 2:22-24; 1John 3:5; 2Cor. 5:21).\u00a0<\/p>\n

But, according the both Old and New Testament passages, no human person can be sinless (Ecc. 7:20; Psa. 130:3; Prov. 20:9).\u00a0 \u201cAll have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 5:12).\u00a0 Remember also, \u201cIf we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us\u201d(1 John 1:8). Here is an interesting passage that opponents to the deity of Jesus quote.\u00a0 A man came to Jesus and said, \u201cGood Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.\u201d\u00a0 They place great weight on the fact that Jesus wouldn\u2019t even call himself \u201cgood\u201d.\u00a0 But was He good?\u00a0 Of course he was and many N.T. passages show that Jesus used the same Greek word for \u201cgood\u201d to refer to other men and things.<\/p>\n

But, those who quote this passage to say that Jesus rebuked a man for calling him \u201cgood\u201d pass right over the statement of Thomas in the Gospel of John when he said to Jesus, \u201cMy Lord and my God.\u201d\u00a0 John records no comment from Jesus.\u00a0 Now, why not rebuke Thomas right there and then?\u00a0 \u201cHey, Thomas, don\u2019t call me God.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even let men call me \u201cgood\u201d let alone call me \u201cGod.\u201d\u00a0 You\u2019ve just committed blasphemy!\u201d\u00a0 In the Book of Revelation on two occasions when John was overwhelmed with what he saw and bowed before an angel, he was told to worship God only.\u00a0 See Rev. 19:10 and 22:9. The N.T. definitely shows a much greater reverence, exaltation and praise for the risen Christ than for the flesh and blood Christ.\u00a0 Jesus did not want anyone to look on flesh and blood as \u201cGod.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE WORSHIP OF JESUS:\u00a0 Worship of Jesus began in the earliest Palestinian Jewish Christianity the evidence shows.\u00a0 In the earliest Christian community Jesus was already understood to be at God\u2019s right hand in heaven, risen from the dead, and active in the Church by His Spirit, and coming in the future as king, ruler and judge of the world…<\/p>\n

Philippians 2:6-9 is a most power passage.\u00a0 Most scholars believe that Paul was quoting a hymn already sung in the early church.\u00a0 The phrase \u201cbeing in the form of God\u201d has been explained away by those who believe God can only be one person.\u00a0 They say, \u201cThe text does not say he was God.\u201d\u00a0 In other words he was in the form of God but not God.<\/p>\n

But, to be fair, we have to consider the rest of the passage.\u00a0 We see that he emptied himself and took the \u201cform of a servant (slave).\u201d\u00a0 Now, was Jesus the \u201cservant\u201d of God or was he just in the form of a servant but not really a servant?\u00a0 On the night he was betrayed he said, \u201cI am among you as he that serves.\u201d\u00a0 The book of Acts refers to Jesus as \u201cservant.\u201d\u00a0 If \u201cin the form of God\u201d does not mean he was equal with God, then \u201cin the form of a servant\u201d does not mean he was a servant!\u00a0 The Greek words, \u201cin the form of,\u201d are the same!! (Antion, David. THE DEITY OF JESUS A response to the \u201cOne God\u201d theory being widely presented to the Churches of God<\/o:p> <\/o:p><\/o:p><\/o:p><\/p>\n

Comments by COGwriter<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

In the past, David Antion has attended one or more of the “One God” seminars that Ken Westby has put together.\u00a0 He\u00a0has essentially been one of the main opposition speakers there.\u00a0 The “One God” unitarians essentially normally claim that Jesus is not God.<\/em><\/p>\n

History shows that those who early confessed Christ understood that both the Father and the\u00a0Son were God.\u00a0 For example, in what has been called “the oldest complete Christian sermon that has survived” (Holmes M.W. The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, 2nd ed. Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 2004, p. 102)–outside those in the Bible–sometimes erroneously referred to as Second Letter of Clement, it seems to support binitarianism. It was given perhaps with a year or so of John’s death and begins with the following:<\/em><\/p>\n

Brothers, we ought so to think of Jesus Christ, as of God, as “Judge of the living and the dead (An Ancient Christian Sermon, 1:1. In Holmes M.W., p. 107).<\/em><\/p>\n

So then, brothers, if we do the will of God our Father…(An Ancient Christian Sermon, 14:1. In Holmes M.W. , p.121). <\/em><\/p>\n

Now the church, being spiritual was revealed in the flesh of Christ, thereby showing us that if any of us guard her in the flesh and do not corrupt her, he will receive her back again in the Holy Spirit. For this flesh is a copy of the Spirit. No one, therefore, who corrupts the copy, will share in the original. This, therefore, is what he means, brothers: guard the flesh, in order that you may receive of the Spirit. Now if we say that the flesh is the church and the Spirit is Christ, then the one who abuses the flesh hath abuses the church. Consequently such a person will not receive the Spirit, which is Christ. So great is the life and immortality which this flesh is able to receive, if the Holy Spirit is closely joined with it, that no one is able to proclaim or to tell “what things the Lord hath prepared” for his chosen ones (An Ancient Christian Sermon, 14:3-5. In Holmes M.W., p.121).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thus, what may be the oldest preserved sermon (which can be seen at the link <\/em>Ancient “Christian” Sermon<\/a>) says to think of Jesus as God and that the Father is God, but it never indicates that the Holy Spirit is God. This is consistent with the binitarian view. <\/em><\/p>\n

Polycarp<\/em><\/a> was known as the Bishop of Smyrna and probably the first physical head (under Jesus Christ) of the <\/em>era when Smyrna dominated<\/em><\/a>. He was neither <\/em>trinitarian<\/em><\/a> nor <\/em>unitarian<\/em><\/a> according to various historical documents. The following quote attributed to him shows that he (and thus by inference the rest of Smyrna) was not unitarian, <\/em><\/p>\n

Now may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal High-priest Himself, the [Son of] God Jesus Christ, build you up in faith and truth, and in all gentleness and in all avoidance of wrath and in forbearance and long suffering and in patient endurance and in purity; and may He grant unto you a lot and portion among His saints, and to us with you, and to all that are under heaven, who shall believe on our Lord and God Jesus Christ and on His Father (The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians in APOSTOLIC FATHERS (as translated by J.B. LIGHTFOOT) 12:6,7). <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There are other quotes from true Christians, as well as those not in the Church of God, that show that unitarianism simply was not the teaching that Christians held to from the earliest times, in the following articles (most of which have been recently updated, and thus, contain additional documented materials):<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Binitarian View: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning<\/a> Is binitarianism the correct position? What about unitarianism or trinitarianism?
\nIs The Father God?<\/a> What is the view of the Bible? What was the view of the early church?
\nJesus is God, But Was Made Man<\/a> Was Jesus fully human and fully God or what?
\nVirgin Birth: Does the Bible Teach It?<\/a> What does the Bible teach? What is claimed in The Da Vinci Code?<\/a>
\nDid Early Christians Think the Holy Spirit Was A Separate Person in a Trinity?<\/a> Or did they have a different view?
\nDid the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity?<\/a> Most act like this is so, but is it?
\nWas Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church?<\/a> Many, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, claim it was, but was it?
\nBinitarianism: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning<\/a> This is a shorter article than the Binitarian View<\/a> article, but has a little more information on binitarianism.<\/p>\n

More information on early Christianity can be found at <\/em>The History of Early Christianity<\/em><\/a> page<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Although the following was from his personal Guardian Ministries site, David Antion is affiliated with COGSC, hence its use in the title of today’s post: I have listened to, read and studied the arguments of the \u201cOne God\u201d presenters or as I have renamed their theory: \u201cGod Can Only Be One Person.\u201d\u00a0 The purpose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-history","category-cog-news","category-doctrine"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}