[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by HBJ

Now I did hear Brother Lee say "Jesus became the life - giving Spirit" "Became" has modalist connotations. But Scripture is plain: God exists in three co-eternal, co-equal Persons. What do you all think?

Taking a step back, let's all remember that this thread is not necessarily about our personal beliefs about the nature of the Godhead, it is about something called "modalism". I think we would all do well to remember that this term was not coined by Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dr. Walter Martin, Billy Graham, John Piper, Wayne Grudem, Jonathan Edwards, UntoHim, Ohio or HBJ. The term, or at least the concept of modalism, comes from the earliest of Christian leaders, teachers, scholars and apologists, while they were engaged in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel, against men who were misrepresenting, and even perverting, the clear teachings of the scripture writing apostles, and in so doing, were taking the saints away from the pure and undefiled "teaching and fellowship of the apostles".

Do we think that Satan and his minions simply gave up at Pentecost? No. Since the beginning, Satan has sought to misrepresent and even pervert the word of God, and in so doing he attempts to subvert and undermine the purposes of God, his universal authority, and ultimately steal glory from God by deceiving and corrupting the hearts and minds of the masterpiece of his creation, mankind. Satan's ultimate defeat comes with the declaration "To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen!" (Ephesians 3:21) Glory in the church - God's eternal purpose is focused on the "vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory" (Romans 9:23) Yes, it is true, we were made to be vessels to contain God - "Christ in you, the hope of glory". (Colossians 1:27) At the same time, we are also called to be the keepers and bearers of the truths that God has revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures.

This term "modalism" is simply a description of a doctrine/teaching that is a misrepresentation or corruption of the the original doctrine/teaching of the Trinity as taught and exemplified by the Lord Jesus, and clearly enunciated by the scripture writing apostles. It was not coined as "an attack on Christians that we don't like". I don't know of anybody who "believes" in modalism - it's not part of the core of the Christian faith. What is part of the core of the Christian faith is the doctrine/teaching of the Trinity - That God has revealed himself to be one Being in three eternal, divine Persons, all equal in holiness, love, power, grace, righteousness and glory. Orthodox Christians have believed and taught this since the beginning. Many teachers since the beginning have taught all sorts of variations and alternative descriptions of the Triune God, and have even claimed that their teachings are simply "what the Bible says". But history shows us that all of them have avoided, or simply refused, to have their teachings compared and contrasted with the orthodox teachings/understandings/views that have been believed and taught for over 2,000 years.
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