Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). In other words, when accepting what Jesus said, the truthful person, ceases to be guided by group instinct. What Jesus said becomes the only guiding factor. All other ground would then be viewed as sinking sand.
The human instinct is cast on not breaking away from standing customs and traditions. As a human being one is compelled to hold on to group beliefs—even though clearly noticing how deviant from truth? This is one of the trappings, prompting God to initiate a program, through Jesus, for purposes of delivering humanity from such trappings.
Christian orthodoxy seems stuck on Trinity. Obviously, this belief did not come from the Spirit of truth that Jesus promised to send (John 14:16-17). Trinity did not come from Jesus, whose personality represented the way the truth and the life, for all humanity. See [Trinity has got no pedestal on which to stand].
Trinity came from the resolutions of the Nicean Council of 325 AD. Those resolutions became authority in Christianity, codified in Christian orthodoxy. While, as humans, the instinct is to give credit to the attempt to remove erroneous teachings by early Christian leaders, we have to question their authority.
In our human ways of looking at things, the leadership of the Church was left with the apostles. However, when carefully looking at scriptures, before the departure of Jesus, the leadership responsibility was not left with the apostles.
Before His departure, Jesus was very clear in that He would not leave the disciples leaderless (John 14:18-21). The one who would hear and keep His commandments, would not necessarily be a leader.
The apostles were pioneers, but they were not to be the leaders, necessarily. At some stages, the disciples had attempted to jostle for positions of leadership. But Jesus had been clear in that such concerns were uncalled for (Mark 9:33-37).
A servant cannot have authority, whatsoever. But serving the needs of those he serves. Jesus Christ protected His integrity by only attending to the people who sought His guidance. He never superintended over anyone.
He even taught in parables, so that those who did not need the information could not understand (Matthew 13:10-15). The teachings of Jesus were only appreciated by those who had resolved to follow Him.
As if to emphasize His point, Jesus pointed out that none of His disciples would be called Rabbi. Instead, everyone was to be regarded as a brother, which implied that those following Him would be treated on equal terms (Matthew 23:8-12). Through the Counselor that He promised, Jesus would still be in charge (John 14:18-21).
For instance, Christian orthodoxy holds to the doctrine of Trinity. While fully appreciating the intentions of that group, some of their resolutions, like Trinity, were without clear endorsement from Jesus Christ.
If receiving the Spirit of Truth is conditional to abiding in the words of Jesus (John 8:31-32), the doctrine of Trinity does not link up with Jesus Christ? In other words, if Jesus is the only authority in Christianity, there is no Trinity in His vocabulary.
As currently appreciated, what sustains the doctrine of Trinity are scholars, or Theologians, premised on the resolutions of Nicean Council of the 325 AD. The human mind resigns, as long as the renowned traditional scholars are quoted. However, what eludes many, is that the spirit of Truth that was promised by Jesus had nothing to do with scholars or Theologians.
One of the vital doctrines revealed by the Spirit of Truth, is that Man was created in God’s image. He had been freely granted a personal relationship with his Creator. That relationship ended after partaking of the wrong fruit at the Garden of Eden.
From then on, Man was to rely on his intellect, more than being guided by His Creator. However, prophesies consistently revealed that, eventually, God would provide means of taking humanity out of sinful trappings. The plan of salvation had to follow every convoluted detail, towards the grand plan, involving the Man called Jesus.
The story of Jesus provides full answers on what had all along mystified humanity, due to the Garden of Eden incident. In Jesus we have the second Adam, breaking the traditions, causing the entrapments, encountered by humanity.
The only difference between Jesus and humanity is that in Jesus we have the true form of that which was created in God’s image. The one declaring Himself as the way, the truth and the life, professed that God was His Father.
As humanity, we had been created in God’s image, so that it was us, expected to call God our Father. But we lost our relationship with God through Adam’s misdemeanor, as clearly recorded in the book of Genesis.
God provided Jesus, as our Messiah, to redirect us to our Creator, with the price of the cross. At His birth, Jesus became the only Son of the Living God. Jesus would not take orders from customs and traditions of this world. Jesus was a true image of His Father, unequivocally declaring: “I and the Father are one”(John 10:30).
Such utterances were supposed to come from humanity, had the sin of Adam not taken root. In Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life; an ideal Man created in God’s image is being manifested.
God dwelt in Jesus, so that, unlike us, Jesus could not be directed by the traditions of humanity, including those of His mother, Mary. God’s standard were represented in Jesus’ behavior. In other words, Jesus set an example of the significance of our being God’s children.
When Jesus declared being the way, the truth and the life, He meant that those applying His behavior and adopting His teachings, are guaranteed to revert back to the original condition of God’s image. No other way would be genuine, regardless of how scholarly accepted, universally.
Jesus, the child born to us is not our God. But Jesus was our only truthful brother, showing us the way to our Creator—hence His saying “I am the way, the truth and the life”(John 14:6). However, in Jesus there was God’s presence. Jesus was the Temple that was destroyed and resurrected after three days (John 2:19).
Similarly, there is now God’s presence in true Christians (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). In those Christians, God needs to be worshiped, but those Christians cannot be worshiped. In the same way, Jesus could not be worshiped, although a few people worshiped God in Jesus, even at His time of anguish.
It seems as if the advocates of Trinity, comprising orthodox Christianity, are inspired by the spirit of idolatry, rather than the Spirit of Truth; when taking comfort in worship, rather than what Jesus said in Luke 4:18? In the spirit of idolatry, it seems the person of Jesus was to be idolized, while everything He said was to be ignored?
Even though Theology was not in the vocabulary of Jesus, Theologians were brought in the lime-light. Those with good profiles in Theological studies were given credence, against those preaching just what Jesus taught?
It seems as if this is where the tangent was lost? Naturally, to be granted the privilege of being listened to, you had to have some good profile in Theological studies. However, those studies would still not be acceptable, as long as not appreciating the resolutions of the Nicean Council of 325 AD?
But the glaring inadequacies of the Trinitarian doctrine are exposed in two Scriptures: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) (KJV). “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22:13) (KJV).
In the context of Theologians, the God of Christians is a Triune God (Trinity), understood in the form of Him being the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. This flies in the face of Hebrews 13:8. That God cannot be the same as the God of the Hebrews, ensconced in the belief that God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4).
Colossians 1:16-18 shows that the God of Israel could not have been different from Jesus Christ. What does it mean, therefore, to say that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, if yesterday Jesus Christ was not regarded as a member of Trinity?
Obviously, the answer to this question cannot come from Theologians, guided by AD 325 Nicean Council, resolutions; but by the Spirit of Truth, as promised by Jesus Christ? While not saleable to those used to idolizing Scholars ahead of Jesus’ teachings, those desiring the truth could benefit.
Jesus was not God, but in Jesus was the God of Israel. As representing all humanity, the person of Jesus carried all sins of humanity. Through Jesus, those desiring to acquire Son-ship to God, would take advantage and live. In Jesus we see someone taking the position of the worst sinner, Barabbas (Matthew 27:26).
The advocates of idolatry cannot miss the opportunity to worship, hence Christianity has become a blossoming religion in the entire world. The birth of Jesus is idolized. The death and resurrection of Jesus are also idolized. Even the cross is idolized. But most of what Jesus said is trivialized. I suppose it cannot be denied that this is the prevailing condition, as characterizing Christianity, today?
While Jesus demonstrated the behavior of being God’s child, in their proclivity to idolatry, the Trinitarians declare that Jesus is the only one qualified to call God His Father. The standards recommended by Jesus are viewed as inaccessible to ordinary human beings?
I suppose, to some of those fanatically religious people, it is blasphemous to even call oneself, God’s Son as Jesus did? To most religious people in Christianity, only Jesus, who is a member of Trinity, is qualified to call Himself the Son of God? Otherwise, Jesus would not be associated with God.
The Spirit of Truth reveals that Jesus, who was as human as we are, called God His Father. This is just as, as human as a true Christian is, should call God his Father. In Jesus there was God. Just as in a true Christian there is God. If Jesus did not need Theology to understand the things of God, a true Christian does not need Theology to understand the things of God.
While Jesus said He and His Father were one, He expected His followers, as His brothers, to repeat the same words about themselves. The Spirit of Truth is promised to those applying Jesus’ behavior and obeying everything He taught (John 8:31-32). As far as Jesus was concerned, worshiping God meant applying every word that Jesus taught, in one’s life.
The Spirit of truth that lived in Jesus would do the same in those who would apply everything that Jesus taught. The only difference between Jesus and such Christians, is that Jesus was the pace-setter, showing the way that leads to re-unification with our Father in Heaven.
The Spirit of truth restores the lost confidence among those intimidated by Scholars, customs and traditions of this world. It is not possible for a person who has attained acceptance by his Heavenly Father to continue in the slavery of Sin, as the words of Jesus are designed to crush all sinfulness.
A person with the Spirit of Truth cannot be confronted by anyone, just as the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law could not successfully confront Jesus, when He was here. That person is not under the Law any more, just as Jesus was not under the Law. See [Unpacking the myth about Law and grace].
That person can be victimized, or even killed. But he would be above his victimizers. While his victimizers fail to understand him/her, because of their proclivity to despise the truth, he/she fully understands them. Like Jesus, that person can never begrudge his/her enemies.
One of the reasons why the person with the Spirit of Truth gets victimized is that the Spirit of Truth is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). The authoritarian environment does not apply to a person with the Spirit of Truth. This is just as Jesus could not respect the religious authorities of His time. In fact, Jesus did not mince His words, exposing their hypocrisy.
Jesus loved those people, but He didn’t love their hypocrisy. In the same way, the person with the Spirit of Truth dares confront anyone, regardless of held titles or positions. Nothing intimidates a person with the Spirit of truth, as he/she is free from what regulates this world. That person is the child of God, and he does not hesitate calling God his/her father (Romans 8:15).
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing reliefs to those having witnessed strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. In a simple conversational tone, most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long awaited providential oasis of hope.
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