TIMOTHEOS

In the Bereans Bible Institute Module 2-A we used the Genesis creation account as the springboard to discuss John’s Gospel because John introduced Jesus as God’s Agent in creation “in the Beginning.” Now in Module 2-B we will use Solomon’s creation account (Proverbs 8:22-31 & Proverbs 30:1-4) as the springboard to discuss Paul’s letters, and how he portrayed “Wisdom” as both God’s agent in creation and the one who was crucified. The first lesson deals…

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I met Darrell George at the Unitarian Christian Alliance conference in October in Springfield, Ohio. We are in agreement on the doctrine of God and His Son, (even though we might disagree on the interpretation of a few Scriptures). This video is an excellent presentation of the concept of “agency” and how that applies to the Genesis creation account. Darrell’s YouTube channel is: TrinityExamined.com – YouTube

For the last several lessons we have been looking at the language in John’s Gospel about the pre-human existence of God’s Son, which is a major theme running throughout the entire book. Socinian Unitarians, who deny the pre-human existence of the Son of God, use exegetical gymnastics to deny the literal understanding of all of these passages. Yet, in chapters 16 & 17 the writer made it perfectly clear that all of this preexistence language,…

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The eighth chapter of John’s Gospel continues to develop the idea of the pre-human existence of the Son of God. In this chapter Jesus claimed to have come “from above,” the very place where He was about to return. He claimed to be “the Beginning,” the title given to “Wisdom” in Proverbs 8:22, and that He “issued forth out of God,” terminology which refers to the “begetting” of Wisdom in Proverbs 8:24-25. These statements reach…

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In John 6, Jesus stated more than once that He came down from heaven. He compared Himself to the manna which God provided for Israel in the wilderness. The difference was that the manna from heaven sustained the Israelites temporal lives, but Jesus provides immortality. Trinitarians have no real difficulties in this chapter. However, Unitarians who deny that the Son of God existed before His birth from Mary have plenty of difficulties in this chapter….

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There are several statements in the New Testament which flatly contradict the Trinitarian claim that Jesus was “co-equal” and “co-eternal” with the Father. Scripture indicates that God performed all of Jesus’ miracles through Him. Jesus had no inherent power or “divine nature” as the source of His miracles. He stated plainly that He was powerless to perform even one thing. He also stated that His Apostles would do the same and more miracles once the…

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In chapter 3 of his Gospel, John went on to support his previous statements about Logos (Word) being “in the beginning with God” (Jn. 1:2) by quoting Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus about testifying to “heavenly things” (Jn. 3:9-12). He then added his own commentary, explaining that the same Son of Man who ascended to heaven previously descended from heaven, thus being an eyewitness to “heavenly things” (Jn. 3:13). He followed this with a quote from…

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The prologue to John’s Gospel closes with a claim that all personal appearances of “God” in the Old Testament were actually His Son, His personal Agent. John 1:18 (LGV) “Never before has anyone seen God. The Only-Begotten Son, the one being unto the Father’s bosom, that one declared Him.” This summary statement was intended to amplify what was stated in verse 10, that the same one through whom all things originated also interacted with man…

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In John 1:1-5 the apostle wrote of Jesus’ preexistence by claiming that He was “in the beginning,” that He was “with God” (external to God), but that He “was God” (using the personal noun “Theos” which always refers to a personal being). In verse 2 He repeated that He was “in the beginning with God.” In verse 3 John stated that everything that exists originated through Him, and nothing originated without Him. In the fourth…

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In John 1:14, the clause, “And the Word became flesh” does not work in either a Trinitarian or Biblical Unitarian model. The meaning of the verb “ginomai” (became) in a predicate nominative construction requires that one person or thing that has a concrete and tangible existence is transformed into something or someone different with a concrete and tangible existence — a complete change in ontological nature, a new beginning as something different. Also, the word…

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In episode 7 of this series, we take a close look at John 1:12-14. Verse 13 contains a textual variant which most Christians are not familiar with. The common versions translate this verse as if it referred to Christians, “who were begotten (plural) … out of God.” However, three lines of evidence point to the singular reading, “who was begotten (singular) … out of God,” meaning the “Logos” who afterward “became flesh and dwelled among…

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In the context of John 1:10-12, the pronouns (“Him” / “His”) refer to Jesus, the one we must “receive” and “believe in His name.” Yet, these pronouns require an antecedent noun as a referent which is the same gender and number (masculine, singular) as the pronouns. The only possible singular, masculine noun which can be the antecedent for these pronouns is the noun “Logos” (Word) in verse 1. This requires that “Logos” was a personal…

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In lesson 5 we dig into the Greek text of John 1:3-4. This text was quoted quite differently by the early Christian writers from how it is translated in most of our modern Bibles. The punctuation in all of the critical printed editions of the Greek text of this passage is also ignored in most English versions. When we punctuate these verses as in the printed Greek texts and as quoted by the early Chrsitians,…

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John’s prologue was intended to reveal what is rather vague in the Genesis creation account. In this lesson we dissect the Greek grammar of the four clauses contained in John 1:1-2 and answer the question: “Who or what is the ‘Word’ (Logos) in John’s prologue?” Is it the name of a Person as in Trinitarianism? Is it the “words” (commands) “Let there be …” in Genesis 1? Is it an abstract “Plan” in God’s mind?…

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The New Testament is clear that the Son of God was concealed in the Old Testament in a “mystery” which Israel did not understand. This concealment was intentional, because it was necessary for God’s plan of redemption to be carried out. A close examination of the Genesis creation account actually illustrates how certain aspects of this “mystery” were concealed. The revelation of the “Mystery of Christ” was given to the Apostles to proclaim plainly. The…

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In this second episode we examine the question of the real, essential, and consistent meaning of the word “God” (Heb. Elohim, Gk. Theos). Establishing a clear definition for this word from the biblical usage is absolutely critical simply because it is misused by both Trinitarians and Unitarians in order to prop up their theology. The word simply means the supreme Sovereign holding all authority and all power within a particular realm of dominion. (It does…

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I have begun a new video series on the topic of God and His Son. This is a remake of the Bereans Bible Institute Module II series “The Doctrine of God” which was originally done in 2014-2015 when we were first coming out of Trinitarianism. I have studied and learned a great deal since those days, which makes a complete remake of that series necessary. The first episode is an introduction, dealing with the process…

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Dr. Dale Tuggy did a podcast with Dr. Dustin Smith on the topic of Philippians 2:5-10, attempting to harmonize this passage with Biblical Unitarianism (which denies any form of preexistence for the Son). Philippians 2:5-11 (LGV) 5 Have this disposition in you which [was] also in Anointed Jesus 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider to be equal with God a prize, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the…

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