TRINITARIANISM

Examined by the Word of the Triune God

By John Best and Lee LeFebre

Purpose
Our purpose is to examine the doctrines of Trinitarianism and to compare these teachings to the
Scripture especially as they pertain to the exchanged life.

Our purpose is not to attack anyone who adheres to the doctrines of Trinitarianism.

The Basic Teachings of Trinitarianism

We gathered information from C. Baxter Krueger, Steve McVey, and Jim Fowler who studied
under James and Thomas Torrance of Edinburgh, Scotland (though Jim Fowler does not adhere
to their teachings). We gathered the information from the men and/or their websites.

Trinitarianism purports that:

Because all of humanity was included in Christ

1. The lost, those who do not believe in Jesus, are no longer in Adam, but in Christ
2. The lost are forgiven, justified, reconciled, made righteous, holy, possess a
regenerate spirit
3. The lost possess the Holy Spirit and the life of Christ within
4. The lost are only living under the illusion of separation from God while they
actually are not separated from Him
5. Faith does not change underlying reality, only removes illusion of separation from
God found in the unbelieving
6. There must be a fundamental revamp of doctrine of hell

They evidently came to these positions utilizing these verses:

Romans 5:18
2 Corinthians 5:19
1 Timothy 4:10
1 John 2:2
Each of these will be examined later.

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 Scriptures from the Triune God That Are Ignored by Trinitarianism:
Benefits Only for Those Who Believe

All of the benefits they attribute to all humanity are available only to those who are in Christ,
according to the Bible. Those who personally believe in Christ as Savior are placed into Christ
by God, not the whole world, as the Trinitarianism says.

John 3:16 “…that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life”

John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not judged, he who does not believe has been judged
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 3:36 “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who does not believe in
the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath remains on him”

John 5:24 “Truly , truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me,
has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”

John 8:24 “I said therefore to you, that “You shall die in your sins: for unless you believe that I
am He, you shall die in your sins.’”

Acts 16:31 “They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your
household.’”

Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it the power of God for salvation to
everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God
is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘BUT THE RIGHEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY
FAITH.’”

Romans 3:28 “…a person is righteous by faith…” 5:1”…we have become righteous by faith…”

Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:9 “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God
dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

1 Corinthians 1:30 “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from
God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption”

Galatians 1:6-9 “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace
of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are

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disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven,
should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!
As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to
what you received, he is to be accursed!”

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”

Ephesians 1:13 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your
salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Colossians 2:13 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions”

1 Thessalonians 1:6 “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word
in much tribulation with joy of the Holy Spirit.”

1 John 5:11-12 “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is
in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not
have the life.”

Scriptures That Are Ignored by Trinitarianism:

The State of the Unbeliever

Instead of being in the state that Trinitarians say they are, Scriptures are clear that the faithless
are separate from Christ, have no hope, without God, unrighteous, suppressors of the truth,
without excuse, unthankful, futile, senseless, darkened, fools, plus many other descriptions.

They have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather
than the Creator, have degrading passions, a depraved mind, filled with all unrighteouness,
wickedness, greed, evil, envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice.

They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil,
disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. They
are without excuse, stubborn, and unrepentant in their heart.

They have sinned without the Law and under the Law, alternately accusing or else defending
them. They are transgressors of the Law and liars.

There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks
for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good,

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there is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the
poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are
swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not
known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

All the world will become accountable to God. (The last six paragraphs contain excerpts from
Ephesians 2:11-13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; and Romans 1:18-3:20.)

Ephesians 2:11-13 “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are
called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by
human hands – remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without
God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near
by the blood of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of
God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor
homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will
inherit the kingdom of God.”

Romans 1:18 -- 3:20 Though not quoted here, please read this significant passage from your
Bible.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 “For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who
afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will
be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those
who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will
pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of
His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at
among all who have believed--for our testimony to you was believed.”

1 Timothy 1:8-11 “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact
that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the
ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for
murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and
whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed
God, with which I have been entrusted.”

This reality of being made right with God by faith alone is a cardinal teaching of the Word of
God, and departure from this truth is considered heresy by evangelicals in light of Scripture.

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Exchanged Life Distinctives Compared to Trinitarian Doctrine
Many exchanged life distinctives are found in the preceding passages. Here are some more:

1. As best we can tell there is no mentioning of lost mankind still being in Adam in
Trinitarianism.

2. See Romans 6:1-11, Galatians 2:20a. The following passages say that those in Christ are
with Him at the right hand of the Father in the heavenlies: Ephesians 2:4-6 and
Colossians 3:1-4.

3. Think about this:

If all men have been joined to Christ in being crucified, buried, raised, ascended and
enthroned, then how will any of them be cast out of heaven into hell?

4. See Colossians 1:27, Galatians 2:20b and 1 John 5:12-20 and think about this:

If all men have Christ living in them and Christ’s life is eternal life, then how will any of
them ultimately lose that life?

5. “In Christ” no longer is unique to believers. Other truths of our changed identity are
muted. For example, Christ in us, Christ’s life is eternal life, we are regenerated,
forgiven, made holy saints, righteous, and blameless

A Recommended Position Regarding Trinitarianism

1. That we plead with friends we know and anybody else in our midst to come back to the
historic understanding of the Scriptures, especially the exchanged life truths as taught by
all who love the message of grace and our unique place of union with Christ.

2. Until they return, we should understand that continued use of their materials could lead
people to their websites and bring charges of heresy upon all who seem to be connected.
In spite of their denial of this teaching being universalism, we see no way that their
position could be interpreted otherwise.

3. That we are cautioned that becoming embroiled in all this controversy on a continued
basis will distract us from the main message of Christ being our life.

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 Comments on Scriptures Utilized
for Trinitarianism and Universalism

Romans 5:18 “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation
to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of
life to all men.”

The well accepted principles of biblical interpretation state that

1. Any interpretation of a particular passage must be in agreement with other passages of
Scripture. Paul clearly states in Romans that justification is granted only to those who
believe; (1:16-17, 3:22, 28, 5:1). See also Romans 4 which is entirely devoted to
justification and righteousness being given to those who believe; not all humanity.
2. All writers must be given the right to define and qualify the words and concepts they
employ such as “all” (see passages in #1)
3. Context must be considered. Without this the “proof text” becomes a pretext. Hence,
examine the whole tenor of how Paul says believers are put right with God throughout
Romans: it is by personal faith.
4. Passages that have unclear elements should be interpreted in light of clear passages.

These principles of biblical interpretation are agreed upon by all

presentations of Bible study methods. Convoluted and exotic
interpretations have led to every cult in Christianity, as with this one.

We would exhort all exchanged life followers to learn and employ these
principles lest we also fall into error.

Most commentaries point out that the “all” in this verse speaks of the offer being made to all
types of people, with no restrictions according to race or class. The “resulted” refers to the
potential of justification resulting from “one act of righteousness.”

2 Corinthians 5:19-20 “Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to
Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us
the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though

John E. Best, How To Interpret the Bible by Grace (Garland, TX: Abundant Living Resources, 2007),
pp. 5-13

Also consider materials from Precepts, Bible Study Fellowship, Emmaus and Moody Bible Institute
correspondence courses and classes on biblical interpretation from dependable Bible colleges and seminaries.

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God were making an appeal through us, we beg you on behalf of Christ, be
reconciled to God.”

Refer to the principles of interpretation stated with Romans 5:18.

If everyone is already reconciled, why would Paul still beg them “be reconciled to God”?

1 Timothy 4:10 “For it is this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our
hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.”

Keeping in mind Paul’s clear theology about who are actually saved, the words “all men”
(or “everyone”) should be understood to mean all kinds of people, both Jews and
Gentiles.

“Especially” could also be translated “namely” and thus it explains who Paul means.

1 John 2:2 “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only,
but also for those of the whole world.”

Refer to the principles of interpretation stated with Romans 5:18.

John is stating that Christ satisfied God’s just demands and thus is our
Advocate/Intercessor.

As other Scriptures say, He paid for the sins of the world (John 1:29). The
efficacy of Christ’s death is not limited to the sins of John’s readers alone. Jesus’ appeal
for sinners therefore is based upon his opening the door to everyone for forgiveness—but
Jesus Himself, as recorded by John elsewhere (and as well by Paul) said that this
potential forgiveness was provided to those who believe (John 3:16, 36 and others below;
Romans 3:21-26; Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:13).

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 CONCLUSION
It is important that we continue to lovingly relate to any in our midst who have adopted the
“Trinitarian” or Universalist’s perspective. In some cases, we ought to express our appreciation
for their sharing Christ as life as well as our grief over their current views.

In the end what is important is not what “Trinitarians” and Universalists or anyone else says, but
what has God said in His Word.

Jesus was clear:

John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not judged, he who does
not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 5:24 “Truly , truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and
believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come
into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

John 8:24 “I said therefore to you, that “You shall die in your
sins: for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your
sins.’”

These and many other passages given to us by the Triune God of the Bible make it very clear that
so called “Trinitarianism” is out of harmony with not only lucid teachings of Scripture, but the
declared position of all Christians who would call themselves orthodox and/or evangelical.

Many Christians have been persecuted, excommunicated and martyred because they would not
compromise on this position that salvation is by faith alone in Christ.

Do we want to put the stumbling block of manifest heresy in the way of God’s people who need
to know Christ as their life?

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