The Uncaused Origin of Creation
Non-Trinitarians that reject the Deity of Christ will often quote the following Johannine passage to prove their case against the Trinity:
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3
They assert that since the Father just is the only true God, neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit can be that one true God.
The problem with this objection is that it is this same Gospel which begins by declaring Jesus to be the prehuman Word who was already existing with God from before creation, and was existing as God, being the One by whom all creation came into being:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it… There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-5, 9-10, 14
John has applied to Jesus the characteristics and functions, which the Hebrew Bible assigns to YHWH alone.
For instance, YHWH is the source of life who illuminates creation by his divine light:
“For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.” Psalm 36:9
“Bless Yahweh, O my soul! O Yahweh my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty, Wrapping Yourself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out the heavens like a tent curtain.” Psalm 104:1-2
And yet it is Jesus who is said to be the true Light, e.g., the Source of all illumination from whom all creation derives its life.
YHWH is also said to be the sole Creator and Sustainer of all things, having made the creation by his own power:
“God is the One who removes the mountains, they know not how, When He overturns them in His anger; The One who shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble; The One who says for the sun not to shine, And sets a seal upon the stars; Who ALONE stretches out the heavens, And tramples down the waves of the sea; Who makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south; Who does great things, unsearchable, And wondrous works, innumerable.” Job 9:5-10
“Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, ‘I, Yahweh, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by MYSELF And spreading out the earth ALL ALONE,’” Isaiah 44:24
“Thus says the God, Yahweh, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it,” Isaiah 42:5
“It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands, And I commanded all their host… For thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it a formless place, but formed it to be inhabited), ‘I am Yahweh, and there is none else.’” Isaiah 45:12, 18
“Hear Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. Also, My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together.” Isaiah 48:12-13
Interestingly, the title “the first and the last” is actually applied to the risen and glorified Christ:
“And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not fear; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.’” Revelation 1:17-18
This next OT text is remarkable, since it is a prayer glorifying YHWH for being the unchanging Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and earth:
“Do Not Hide Your Face from Me A Prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before Yahweh. O Yahweh, hear my prayer! And let my cry for help come to You… But You, O Yahweh, abide forever, And the remembrance of Your name from generation to generation… Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You will remain; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.” Psalm 102:1, 12, 25-27
I say remarkable because in Hebrews the Father takes these very words and applies it to his Son, in order to magnify the Son for being that very immutable Lord God who personally created and preserves the entire creation by his very own power!
“in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high… But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God (ho theos), is forever and ever, And the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.’… And, ‘You, Lord [the Son], in the beginning founded the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands; They will perish, but You remain; And they all will wear out like a garment, And like a mantle You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.’” Hebrews 1:2-3, 8, 10-12
Now this places anti-Trinitarians in a dilemma if Jesus isn’t YHWH Incarnate.
This is because the non-Trinitarian view leads to contradictions between the NT writings and the Hebrew Bible in regards to the number of Persons involved in creation. According to the OT it was YHWH alone who created and preserves creation, whereas the NT proclaims that the Father employed the preexistent Son to create and sustain all things.
And it’s not just Hebrews, which states this:
But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live. 1 Corinthians 8:6 New Living Translation (NLT)
“For we must never forget that he rescued us from the power of darkness, and re-established us in the kingdom of his beloved Son, that is, in the kingdom of light. For it is by his Son alone that we have been redeemed and have had our sins forgiven.
“Now Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. He existed before creation began, for it was through him that every thing was made, whether spiritual or material, seen or unseen. Through him, and for him, also, were created power and dominion, ownership and authority. In fact, every single thing was created through, and for him. He is both the first principle and the upholding principle of the whole scheme of creation.
“And now he is the head of the body which is composed of all Christian people. Life from nothing began through him, and life from the dead began through him, and he is, therefore, justly called the Lord of all. It was in him that the full nature of God chose to live, and through him God planned to reconcile in his own person, as it were, everything on earth and everything in Heaven by virtue of the sacrifice of the cross.” Colossians 1:13-20 J.B. Phillips (PHILLIPS)
There are more problems with the non-Trinitarian exegesis of the sacred writings.
Elsewhere in John’s writings we are told that the Father is light:
“And this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not do the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7
And yet it is the Son, not the Father, whom the Evangelist identifies as the true Light, meaning the Source of all illumination.
This either implies that the Son is the Source of the Father’s light, which makes the Creator dependent upon a creature for the illumination he has to bestow upon others. Or the Son is not a creature and is essentially one with the Father, which means that both of them together are the one true light and Source of all life, which leads me to my next point.
John tells us that God’s Son is himself the true God and eternal life:
“And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” 1 John 5:20
We know that it is the Son who is being identified as the true God since John begins his writing by describing Jesus as that very eternal life that was with the Father from the beginning and who then manifested himself to them:
“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:1-3
Christ being called the eternal life corroborates his being described as the true God at the letter’s conclusion. After all, Christ could not be the eternal life without also being the true God since these two ascriptions go hand in hand.
- The true God is the eternal life.
- A creature cannot be the eternal life, since creatures are dependent upon God for their existence.
- Jesus is the eternal life who was with the Father from the very beginning.
- Jesus is, therefore, the true God otherwise he could not be the eternal life.
Hence, 1 John 5:20 serves as a bookend where John reiterates what he had written in respect to the Father and the Son at the start of his epistle.
Once again, this simply reinforces the point that it isn’t the Father alone, in isolation from the Son and the Holy Spirit, who is the only true God. Rather the Father is the only true God and the Source of all life and illumination in union with both his Son and eternal Spirit.
This explains why only these three, and these three alone, are said to give life to creatures:
“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes… Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” John 5:21, 25-26
“The Spirit is the One who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” John 6:63
“who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life… Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:6, 17-18
In the next installment I will provide additional evidence for Christ being described as God in an absolute sense, in the same way that the Father is identified as God.