The source of humanity is God, who created Man (Mankind) in His own image. Therefore, all human beings trace their origin from God, not from Adam, but from God who, therefore, is their Father. The doctrine of Trinity is questioned when considering that God cannot be likened to anything created.
The Bible reveals that Jesus is God and that the Holy Spirit is God. The aspects of Father and Son have got nothing to do with the nature of God, except that God is the Father of humanity. The word ‘Father’ is taken from the Hebrew term “Abba” and it simply means source.
Humanity lost their identity with God at the Garden of Eden. God had said to Adam: “on the day you shall take the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Here is the paradox: Everything said by God, cannot be taken as idle. In fact whatever God says by His word of mouth, is Law.
But, someone may be quick to assume that Adam did not die on the day that he ate the forbidden tree, as God had said? This is when regarding that Adam lived for 930 years, after having taken the forbidden tree (Genesis 5:5).
However, God interprets death as separating with His Spirit. This is different from how humans interpret death. Jesus once said what most people may not have understood. To one of those who intended to follow Him, but desiring to first bury his father, Jesus said: “Let the dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:22). This, actually, shows that, with Jesus, those people, without God’s Spirit, are like moving corpses. They have no life in them.
Adam died on the day that he ate the forbidden tree, according to God’s word. As long as the Spirit of God was no-longer in fellowship with Adam, the Man created in God’s image was dead. The spirit of God was never to remain in fellowship with Adam and his offspring, from then on (Genesis 3:22-24).
Adam was no longer the child of God. At that point, Adam actually lost his right of calling God his Father. It is true that God would later continue to work with humanity through the selected prophets, but humanity generally, had lost their identity with God.
This then brings us to the story of Jesus, whose role is first prophesied in Genesis 3:15, cited as the offspring of the woman. Several Old Testament prophecies point to this, being the most important development in the history of humanity. The entire story of the Israelites, starting with Abraham, preserves the focus towards this extraordinarily important event—the birth of Jesus Christ.
The prophet Isaiah records what, as I have recently discovered, most people just gloss over, without bothering to analyze the verses for deeper understanding:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (Isaiah 9:6-7) (ESV).
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given”: There is difference between a Child that is born and a son that is given. A Child was born by Mary, but that child was not a son of Joseph and Mary, as the Son was, instead, given by God.
Bear in mind that the entire humanity had lost their right to be the children of God, as originally designed. The Israelites were the children of Abraham, not the Children of God. This is one of the reasons why the Jews could not identify with Jesus.
The above scripture shows that, Jesus, the child born of Mary, will sit on the throne of David. This makes Him identify with humanity, though being God. The man called Jesus is, however, undefiled with Adamic transgression. He is like another Adam, whose role is to replace the lost relationship between man and God, as a result of the sin of the first Adam.
The last line states: “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” The Lord of hosts being referred to, here, comes up with the idea of communicating through the prophet Isaiah, about the child that would be born, but being also the Son that would be given.
Jesus was not the son of Abraham, but was born by a woman, so that He could be fostered by Joseph. But, by right, Joseph was not the father of Jesus. The gospel books show clearly that Mary was found to be pregnant, but not having slept with any man. So, whose son was Jesus? On several occasions, Jesus stated that He was the “son of Man.” But He also identified Himself as the “Son of God.”
Both these two terms qualify for the existence, or the reality of humanity, not God. For instance, I am the son of Man who was created in God’s image. My son-ship to Man, therefore, bypasses Adam who died after having taken a forbidden tree. In Adam I was as good as dead, without any hope at all. However, through Jesus, I now qualify as having reverted to being the son of God, in whose image I had been created.
All of us had originally had this right of son-ship to God, before the forbidden tree incident. The miracle of Jesus is that He replaces Adam who died, immediately after taking the forbidden tree. In other words, the cry of Jesus: “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”), Ought to have come from Adam, immediately after he had eaten the forbidden tree.
But Adam had become oblivious, just as we are all oblivious of our rescinded relationship with God, due to the state of sinfulness. Adam could not have uttered those words of despair, because the sin had blinded him. The sin had left Adam confused and unable, even, to know his true identity.
At the cross, Jesus took Adam’s position, so that He could reverse the death that affected Adam and all of humanity, uttering the words that Adam ought to have uttered. As stated earlier, the word of God is Law and cannot be changed willy-nilly.
God could not violate His own law and ignore Adam’s death penalty. Death was the consequence of sin that Jesus had to take upon Himself to address, so that we could live. (How immeasurable, His mercy and Love?).
The mockery that was heaped on Jesus (Luke 23:32-38) was actually intended for each and every one of us, grueling under the sin of Adam. Pride, existing with all humanity, deserves the mockery that was heaped on Jesus, because all of us think we are something, when we are, actually, nothing.
The sin of pride is with all humanity. Unbelievably though, my current observation is that the traditional Christians, actually, project this type of sin more than non-Christians?
The term “Son of God” while referring to Jesus, who is God, it refers to Jesus in His capacity as our brother (Human). Jesus uses this term, only in His capacity of being our Savior. Jesus is the second Adam (1 Corinthian 15:45).
In other words, Jesus simply replaced Adam who had died after having eaten the forbidden tree, though Jesus is God. Jesus did this, so that we could recover our identity of being God’s children. If Jesus is the Son of God, so am I the Son of God, through Him who died for me.
If Adam had not been part of the Trinity, before taking the forbidden tree, Jesus can therefore also not be identified in the matrix of Trinity. Jesus’ role can only be figured as representing Trinity in our finite minds, but His actual being is completely out of human imaginations.
Even though one can deduce Trinity by interpreting scriptural references, whose figurative usage of language can suggest a triune God; that is outside the teachings of our Lord.
The role of Jesus has got nothing to do with whether God is Trinitarian, Unitarian or whatever. Jesus was as human as all of us are, because He was born by a woman, like all of us.
The only difference between Jesus and us is that He incarnated Himself in human form, in order to identify with humanity. This was only for the purpose of helping humanity to discover their true identity, as God’s children.
In His second-coming, the same Jesus is going to wear the same human form, as to identify with humanity. He would be King of kings and Lord of lords, on the throne of David, who is of this world. Those other kings and lords are going to reign on the earth with Christ (Psalms 37:29, Matthew 5:5, 1 Corinthians 6:2, Revelation 2:26, and Revelation 5:10).
Jesus stated that those people would be His brothers and sisters. They carry similar status, but they are not Gods, as only He; is God. What made it possible for God to dwell with man; is His birth through the Virgin Mary. Otherwise, it could not have been possible for us to ever relate with Him. But God created all things and He is the only Alpha and Omega (The beginning and the End).
After the restoration of the physical creation in Genesis 1:1-25, God created Man, whom He conferred with the dominion, over all creation on earth (Genesis 1:26) [See here].
But, man lost that dominion, at the Garden of Eden. The restoration of that dominion is through Jesus. This is why it is not possible to enter into His Kingdom, unless one is born again. The Adamic reality in our nature has got to go, first; before adopting the nature of Jesus Christ, the second Adam.
As long as Jesus never insinuated the idea of a Trinity, there is no reason why people should not remain skeptical about it. The following scriptures show that a Christian has got no liberty to entertain other teachings other than what Jesus taught: The word of God supersedes all other authorities.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4) (ESV).
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25) (ESV).
“You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you (Deuteronomy 4:2) (NIV). “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it (Deuteronomy 12:32) (NIV). Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar (Proverbs 30:6) (NIV).
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.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
