Godhead or Trinity?

These are just a bunch of Bible verses and Ellen White quotes I use for studying. The first part is about the Father and Son then down a ways I have notes on the Holy Spirit.
I just copied and pasted all this from my notes, so there might be some duplicates.

Father and Son

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

But is this wrong? It seems to contradicts Philippians 2:5-9 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,”

The first thing we need to understand here is the word “God”. The word “God” is NOT a name, it’s a title. There are many gods. To Buddhists, Buddha is a god. To Muslims, Alla is a god. The Bible calls both the Father “God” and the Son Jesus “God”, because to us, they are both our God’s. But are they one being, no.

Philippians 2:5-9 says “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped”. Why would God’s word say God was equal to God if they are one being? That would be ridiculous. This clearly shows there are 2 beings, and this was before Jesus came to earth.

This also contradicts 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God AND one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”

So back to 1 Timothy 3:16. It does not really say God became flesh, it actually says “HE” became flesh. The king James version says “God” but if you look at the Hebrew you’ll see that the KJV is misleading.

And who is “he”? Not God the Father, no, the one who became flesh is the one who “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped”. Only the King James Version says God, all of the other versions say “he”, and more important, the original Greek also says “he”.
NIV: He appeared in the flesh
ESV: He was manifested in the flesh
NASB: He who was revealed in the flesh
HCSB: He was manifested in the flesh
And then there is the KJV saying: God was manifest in the flesh
Here is the Greek: [He] was revealed http://biblehub.com/text/1_timothy/3-16.htm
When you see what appears to be a conflict, look up the original writings (Greek, Hebrew).

Philippians 2:5-9
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

Romans 8:3
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh
(This does not say God became flesh, it says he sent his son)

John 6:38
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

1 Corinthians 8:6
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

1 Corinthians 11:3
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
(If Jesus is God, how can this be? Again, it’s because the English word God is not a good translation, it should say the head of Christ is the Father).

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

Matthew 11:27
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

Hebrews 1:3
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

John 7:16-18
So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

John 14:28
You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

Matthew 28:18
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

Luke 10:22
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

John 13:3
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,

John 17:1 – 5
Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

John 14:28
You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

John 20:17
Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.’
After Jesus rose from the dead and had His divine nature again, said this. So, Jesus, even in His divine nature, calls the Father, His GOD

John 16:27 & 28
“for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”

John 20:31
but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

John 17:5
Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

1 Corinthians 3:8
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one:

Mark 10:7 & 8
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Ephesians 3:16-18
I pray that out of the riches of His glory, He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that CHRIST MAY DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of His love,…

And for Seventh-day Adventist there is this:
“From eternity there was a complete unity between the Father and the Son. They
were two, yet little short of being identical; two in individuality, yet one in
spirit, and heart, and character.” — (Ellen G. White, Youth’s Instructor,
December 16, 1897)
http://tinyurl.com/y7dthgo

The failure of the trinity is that by calling them co-equals, it denies the authority of the Father.

After Jesus rose from the dead and had His divine nature again, what did He say to Mary at the tomb? …
John 20:17
Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'”

Two things. First, Jesus, even in His divine nature, calls the Father, His GOD. And second, the Holy Spirit had not yet been sent. So why is Jesus only ascending to ONE being? Is it because the Holy Spirit is not a separate being from the Father and Son?

JOHN 4:23-24
Jesus Christ said,
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Here is a mistranslated verse that is also used to try and prove the trinity: There are three that testify. Here is a good source of truth on this:
https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/is-god-a-trinity/a-spurious-reference-to-the-trinity-added-in-1-john-5-7
If you look here, you’ll see again that the King James is different than all other translations: https://biblehub.com/1_john/5.htm

Jesus was begotten, Jesus is the son

Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

1 John 5:1
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

John 14:28
“You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

1 Timothy 3:16
By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.
Here is the big lie, the King James version says God was manifest in the flesh, but that is a false translation from people with an agenda. The original transcript says “He”, not God…http://biblehub.com/interlinear/1_timothy/3-16.htm

John 16:27
for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.

1 John 5:5
Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God

John 14:18&19
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.

Jesus, is also a God:

John 20:28 – Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God (Theos not Theon)!”
Romans 9:5 – …Christ, who is God (Theos not Theon) over all, forever praised! Amen.
Titus 2:13-15 – …our great God (Theou not Theon) and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Hebrews 1:8 – But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever…
2 Peter 1:1 – …the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ…

But the following verses show us that the Son is not the Father and the Father is not the Son:

1 Corinthians 8:6
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

1 Corinthians 11:3
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

Matthew 11:27
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

Hebrews 1:3
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

1 Corinthians 11:3
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. (verse 9 adds) Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

John 14:28
You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

Matthew 28:18
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

John 13:3
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,

John 14:28
You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

Matthew 12:28
But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

John 20:31
but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Philippians 2:5-8
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

John 17:5
Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

Romans 8:3
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh

John 3:13
No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.

John 6:38
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

John 6:62
What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?

John 8:23
And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

Romans 8:3
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

John 20:28
Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

Matthew 1:23
“BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

Let me throw this out, to keep things in perspective.
The reference to one God, is the same as my wife and I are one.
Mark 10:7 & 8 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
One flesh, but I can be at work and my wife can be at the store, how can that be if we are one flesh? We are one in purpose, our family, but we are not one person because we can be separate…..
Jesus is a separate being from the Father, but yet they are one in purpose…

The Holy Spirit is more of a mystery:
“The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery. Men cannot explain it, because the Lord has not revealed it to them. Men having fanciful views may bring together passages of Scripture and put a human construction on them; but the acceptance of these views will not strengthen the church. Regarding such mysteries, which are too deep for human understanding, silence is golden.”—Acts of the Apostles, p. 52.

As far as the Father and Son, our minds can’t understand who they are, but through these verses we can see they are separate:

1 Corinthians 8:6
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; AND one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

1 Corinthians 11:3
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and THE HEAD OF CHRIST IS GOD.

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God AND one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

Matthew 11:27
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

John 20:31
but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

I’ve had many people shove this verse shoved at me trying to prove Jesus is God: “God was manifest in the flesh”, so Jesus is God..
For something as important as who we worship, we should look into it, study it a little.

The Holy Spirit:

Matthew 12:32
“Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Mark 3:29
“but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”

Matthew 27:50
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

Galatians 5:16 – 26
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

John 16:7-8
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Matthew 12:28
But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

1 Corinthians 2:11
For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Genesis 1:2
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

Genesis 6:3
Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

Exodus 31:3
I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship,

Exodus 35:31
And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship;

Ephesians 4:30
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (notice, Spirit of God, not God the spirit).

Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Isaiah 11:2
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

Acts 2:4
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

Job 32:8
But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding

1 Corinthians 12:4
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

John 4:24
God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

John 14:16 – 19
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.

Matthew 12:32
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come
Matthew 12:31
Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

Luke 11:13
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

Romans 8:26
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

MAN HAS HIS OWN SPIRIT
Proverbs 25:28
He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

From Ellen White (for SDA’s):

“What constitutes the sin against the Holy Ghost? It is willfully attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit.” — (E.G. White, 5T 634.1, 1889

Ellen White gives another definition for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
“The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit does not lie in any sudden word or deed; it is the firm, determined resistance of truth and evidence.” — (E.G. White, Manuscript 30, 1890)

“The Father and the Son engaged in the mighty, wondrous work they had contemplated, of creating the world. … After the earth was created, and the beasts upon it, the Father and Son carried out their purpose, which was designed before the fall of Satan, to make man in their own image. They had wrought together in the creation of the earth and every living thing upon it. And now GOD said to His SON, “Let us make man in our image. [Genesis 1:26 quoted]” — (E.G. White, 1SP, pp. 24, 25)

God was not manifest in the flesh. That is only in the KJV, all other versions and the original Greek say “HE WAS REVEALED”, he meaning Jesus was revealed in the flesh: http://biblehub.com/interlinear/1_timothy/3-16.htm

“Living Temple contains the alpha of these theories. I knew that the omega would follow in a little while; and I trembled for our people. I knew that I must warn our brethren and sisters not to enter into controversy over the presence and personality of God. “ {Ellen White 1 Selected Messages 203}
https://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Book&bookCode=1SM&lang=en&pagenumber=203&paragraphReferences=1

“The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery. Men cannot explain it, because the Lord has not revealed it to them. Men having fanciful views may bring together passages of Scripture and put a human construction on them; but the acceptance of these views will not strengthen the church. Regarding such mysteries, which are too deep for human understanding, silence is golden.”—Acts of the Apostles, p. 52.
http://www.whiteestate.org/books/aa/aa5.html

“It is THE SPIRIT that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. Christ is not here referring to his doctrine, BUT TO HIS PERSON, THE DIVINITY OF HIS CHARACTER. {RH April 5, 1906, par. 12}
https://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Periodical&bookCode=RH&lang=en&year=1906&month=April&day=5&paragraphReferences=0

“The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, which is sent to all men to give them sufficiency, that through His grace we might be complete in Him.” (Ellen G. White, 14 Manuscript Releases, p. 84)
https://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Book&bookCode=14MR&pagenumber=84

“Christ declared that after his ascension, he would send to his church, as his crowning gift, the Comforter, who was to take his place. This Comforter is the Holy Spirit,- the soul of his life, the efficacy of his church, the light and life of the world. With his Spirit Christ sends a reconciling influence and a power that takes away sin.” (E.White, The Review and Herald, May 19, 1904 par. 1)
http://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Periodical&bookCode=RH&lang=en&year=1904&month=May&day=19&m=1&paragraphReferences=1

“The influence of the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in the soul. We do not now see Christ and speak to Him, but His Holy Spirit is just as near us in one place as another. It works in and through every one who receives Christ. Those who know the indwelling of the Spirit reveal the fruits of the Spirit,-‘love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.” (E.White, Bible Echo, June 17, 1901 par. 6)
http://tinyurl.com/ya8xbpkl
http://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Periodical&bookCode=BEcho&lang=en&year=1901&month=June&day=17&m=1&paragraphReferences=1

“True faith and repose in God are always accompanied by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, whose temple we are. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ; it is His representative. Here is the divine agency that carries conviction to hearts.” (Ellen G. White, 13 Manuscript Releases, p. 313)
https://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Book&bookCode=13MR&pagenumber=313

“The holy Spirit is the comforter, as the personal presence of Christ to the soul.” (Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, November 29, 1892)
http://tinyurl.com/y6vquuco
https://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Periodical&bookCode=RH&lang=en&year=1892&month=November&day=29&paragraphReferences=1

“From eternity there was a complete unity between the Father and the Son. They were two, yet little short of being identical; two in individuality, yet one in spirit, and heart, and character.” — (Ellen G. White, Youth’s Instructor, December 16, 1897)
https://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Periodical&bookCode=YI&lang=en&year=1897&month=December&day=16&paragraphReferences=0

“The Father gave his Spirit without measure to his Son, and we also may partake of its fulness.” — (Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, November 5, 1908)
http://tinyurl.com/ycynzyau
https://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Periodical&bookCode=RH&lang=en&year=1908&month=November&day=5&paragraphReferences=1

“he Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the only begotten Son of God, binds the human agent, body, soul, and spirit, to the perfect, divine-human nature of Christ.” — (Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, April 5, 1906)
http://tinyurl.com/y97jcnk5
http://text.egwwritings.org/publication.php?pubtype=Periodical&bookCode=RH&lang=en&QUERY=and+angels&resultId=11305&year=1906&month=April&day=5

“We want the HOLY SPIRIT, which is JESUS CHRIST.” — (Ellen G. White, Lt66, April 10, 1894)
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/6785.2000001

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