By Sam Shamoun in trinity — 21 May 2025

Unitarian Logic Gone Wild!

There is an attempt among certain analytic philosophers and/or apologists to prove that the Father is identical to the one God of holy Scripture. These include unitarians and Arians who deny the Trinity and/or reject the Divinity of Christ altogether.

This group even include specific Trinitarians who also believe that the Father alone is God in the nominal sense, meaning God by way of identity. These individuals argue that the Father is numerically identical to the one God. I.e., the Father JUST IS the one God, and the one God JUST IS the Father.

They further assert that the Son and the Spirit are God in a secondary sense, by way of predication, e.g., the Son and the Spirit are fully divine in nature to the same extent that the Father is divine. As one Trinitarian apologist puts it:

Thus, in summary, within the Trinitarian life, according to the Greek-speaking theologians (i.e. the Cappadocian Fathers), the Father is the sole ultimate (unsourced) source of everything else and thus possesses a specific priority within the Trinity (and reality as a whole). This specific priority grounds the fact of the Father being designated as ‘God’ in the primary sense of the word. The Father is thus numerically identical to the one ‘God’, while the Son and the Spirit are, with the Father, ‘God’ in a secondary sense of the word by each of them sharing in the one divine nature. Taking this all into account, we can state this position succinctly as such:

(1) (Monarchy):

(i) There are three entities: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, who share one divine nature and thus are each equally termed ‘God’ (in the secondary sense).

(ii) The one ‘God’ (in the primary sense) is numerically identical to one of the entities: the Father, who is the sole ultimate source of the Son and the Spirit…

(2) (Monarchy2):

(i) There are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, who share one divine nature and thus are each equally divine (i.e. ‘God’ in the predicative sense).

(ii) The one ‘God’ (in the nominal sense) is numerically identical to one of the persons: the Father, who is the sole ultimate source of the Son and the Spirit.

This specific doctrine, construed in this particular way, thus posits the existence of three divine persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Yet, there is only one ‘God’ that is located within the Trinity, as only one of those ‘persons’, the Father, is ‘God’ in the nominal sense. However, the question that is now presented to us is why the Father, and him alone, is ‘God’ in that specific sense. Well, as noted previously, the term ‘God’ (in its nominal sense) is solely ascribable to an entity who is ultimate and the source of everything else that exists. The term ‘God’ in the nominal sense is thus taken to imply fundamentality. And as the Father is the sole divine person within the Trinity, who is the ultimate source of everything else, he uniquely has the right to bear the name ‘God’. Thus, at a more precise level, the Father being the one ‘God’ in a nominal sense is reducible to him being the one ‘God’ in a fundamentality-sense. However, despite the plausibility of the clarification, the question still stands of what it actually means for the Father to be ‘God’ in this specific sense. What are the requirements for an entity to be deemed fundamental? And does the subordination of the Son and the Spirit to the Father in this fundamentality sense create an ontological distinction (or subordination) between them? (Joshua R. Sijuwade, Building the monarchy of the Father; emphasis mine)

Hence, to these folks the phrase “one God” is equivalent to a proper noun, a personal name, which just so happens to belong to the Father alone. To give a helpful analogy, to say that the Father is the one God is akin to saying that Clark Kent is Superman, or that Mark Twain is Samuel Clemens.

According to this view, the words “one God” and “Father” are simply interchangeable terms, being synonymous expressions denoting the same Person.

In this post I will show that the Bible does not define God in relation to the Father in the “nominal,” “primary,” and/or “fundamental” sense. I will do so by employing the same reasoning used by such folks to prove that it is Jesus, not the Father, who is described as being numerically identical to the one true God. My aim in doing so is not to undermine the fundamental, essential Deity and coequality of the Father to the Son (and the Holy Spirit). Rather, I do this solely to prove that such philosophical distinctions and metaphysical assumptions are not derived from the God-breathed Scriptures. Rather, they are unbiblical categorizations that are being read into the inspired writings, in order to distort the canonical books for the express purpose of making them fit into these uninspired man-made traditions.

YHWH the only true God

The Old Testament is emphatic in its proclamation that YHWH alone is the true God. I will be quoting the English translations of both the Hebrew and Greek versions of some of the texts, in order to show how these statements tie in with the Greek NT writings.

“But Yahweh is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation. Thus you shall say to them, ‘The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’” Jeremiah 10:10-11

“Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, ‘Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Yahweh is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will be found; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. Now for many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. But in their distress they turned to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and they searched for Him, and He was found by them.’” 2 Chronicles 15:1-4

“And Israel [has been] a long time without the true God (theo alethino), and without a priest to expound [the truth], and without the law.” 2 Chronicles 15:3 LXX

“Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of Yahweh and spread it out before Yahweh. And Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh saying, ‘O Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O Yahweh, and hear; open Your Eyes, O Yahweh, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. Truly, O Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have laid waste to all the countries and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. But now, O Yahweh our God, save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are Yahweh, You alone.’” Isaiah 37:14-20

“But now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hands, that every kingdom of the earth may know that thou art God alone (su ei ho theos monos).” Isaiah 37:20 LXX

“I am Yahweh, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, That they may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am Yahweh, and there is no other,” Isaiah 45:5-6

“For I am the Lord God (kyrios ho theos), and there is no other God beside me (ouk esti plen emou theos); I strengthened thee, and thou hast not known me. That they that [come] from the east and they that [come] from the west may know that there is no God but me (ouk esti theos plen emou). I am the Lord God (kyrios ho theos), and there is none beside.” LXX

It is crystal clear from the aforementioned verses that YHWH JUST IS the one God, and that the one God JUST IS YHWH. These inspired passages show that YHWH is God in the nominal sense, being identical to the one God, which brings me to my next point.

One YHWH Jesus Christ

The NT writings identify Jesus as that one God YHWH:

“yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ (heis kyrios ‘Iesous Christos), by whom are all things (ta panta), and we exist through Him.” 1 Corinthians 8:6

Note that Christ is said to be heis kyrios (“one Lord”) by whom all creation came into being. The Greek phrase heis kyrios is the way that the Hebrew terms YHWH echad are rendered in the Septuagint translation of the OT:

“Hear O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one (YHWH echad)!” Deuteronomy 6:4

“Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord (kyrios heis estin);’” Mark 12:29

“And Yahweh will be king over all the earth; in that day Yahweh will be the only one (YHWH echad), and His name one.” Zechariah 14:9

“And the Lord (kyrios) shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one Lord (kyrios heis), and his name one,” LXX

Moreover, the prophetic witness emphatically testifies that YHWH is the Lord who alone created all things:

“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 saith the Lord (kyrios) that redeems thee, and who formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord (ego kryios) that performs all things (panta): I stretched out the heaven alone, and established the earth.” LXX

Hence, for Jesus to be described as heis kyrios (“one Lord”) whom the Father appointed to create all things indisputably identifies him as YHWH God Incarnate.

This explains why Christ’s followers had no problem addressing him as the true God and eternal life:

“We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true God. We are in union with the one who is true, his Son Jesus the Messiah, who is the true God and eternal life (houtos estin ho alethinos theos kai zoe aionios).” 1 John 5:20 International Standard Version (ISV)

John has bookended his letter by reiterating the point he made at the start:

“What existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life! This life was revealed to us, and we have seen it and testify about it. We declare to you this eternal life that was with the Father (ten zoen ten aionion hetis en pros ton Patera) and was revealed to us. What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you, too, can have fellowship with us. Now this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus, the Messiah.” 1 John 1:1-3 ISV

Note that it is the Son whom the Apostle says is the eternal life that has been with the Father from the beginning. Therefore, it is the Son that the Evangelist identifies as the true God and eternal life. After all, only God can be the eternal life since you cannot be the one without also being the other.

Revelation provides further corroboration for the Son being the true God:

“Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: Thus says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation:” Revelation 3:14 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Apocalypse has attributed to the risen Christ a unique divine title, which the prophet Isaiah ascribes to YHWH:

“Those who pronounce a blessing in the land will do so by the God called Amen; those who make a solemn pledge in the land will do so by the God called Amen. Past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my sight. Look! I’m creating a new heaven and a new earth: past events won’t be remembered; they won’t come to mind.” Isaiah 65:16-17 Complete English Bible (CEB)

Amazingly, YHWH is described as the God whose name is the Amen in the context of announcing the creation of a new heaven and earth, which is a major theme within the book of Revelation!

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things passed away.’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’ Then He said to me, ‘They are done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.’” Revelation 21:1-7

And here’s how the LXX translated the passage from Isaiah:

“For ye shall leave your name for a loathing to my chosen, and the Lord (kyrios) shall destroy you: but my servants shall be called by a new name, which shall be blessed on the earth; for they shall bless the true God (ton theon ton alethinon): and they that swear upon the earth shall swear by the true God (ton theon ton alethinon); for they shall forget the former affliction, it shall not come into their mind.”

Hence, for Jesus to be the Amen he must be the true God. Note the logic behind this:

YHWH is the true God since he is the Amen whose character is completely reliable and trustworthy.
Jesus is the Amen, being the faithful and true witness.
Jesus is, therefore, the one true God YHWH.

Speaking of Revelation, there are other unique divine names of YHWH which the risen Son applies to himself:

“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

“‘Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end… I, Jesus, sent My angel to bear witness to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’… He who bears witness to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” Revelation 22:12-13, 16, 20

The OT describes YHWH as the First and the Last who has been there from the start of creation and will remain till the very last generation has been brought into existence:

“Who has worked and done it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? ‘I, Yahweh, am the first; and with the last, I am He.’” Isaiah 41:4

“Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts: ‘I am the first, and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.’” Isaiah 44:6 – Cf. 48:12

Other texts which identify Christ as the YHWH of the Hebrew Bible include:

“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (tois epikaloumenois to onoma tou kyriou hemon ‘Iesou Christou), their Lord and ours:” 1 Corinthians 1:2

Here we learn that the first generation of believers, both Jews and Gentiles, worshiped Jesus in the exact same manner that the OT saints worshiped YHWH:

“Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They would call upon Yahweh and He would answer them.” Psalm 99:6

“Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name (tois epikaloumenois to onoma autou); they called upon the Lord (ton kyrion), and he heard them.” Psalm 98:6 LXX

This explains why Stephen, the first Christian martyr, called upon Jesus at the moment of his death,

“They went on stoning Stephen as he was calling out and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!’ Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!’ And having said this, he fell asleep.” Acts 7:59-60

In the same exact way that OT believers would cry out to YHWH:

“Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O Yahweh, God of truth.” Psalm 31:5

“Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is broken and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:6-7

Hence, the biblical record is explicitly clear that Jesus is YHWH God Almighty who became (and forever remains) a physically embodied human being.

Philosophers: You Have a Problem!

Herein lies the dilemma for both the unitarians and Trinitarians that argue that the Father alone is God in the nominal sense.

If they apply their reasoning to what the inspired Scriptures, particularly the NT writings, unambiguously, explicitly teach regarding Jesus then they cannot avoid the conclusion that Christ is the one true God in the nominal sense.

Here is what their philosophical assumptions would force them to accept:

YHWH is the only true God apart from whom no other god exists.
Jesus is identified as YHWH God who became a flesh and blood human being.
Jesus is, therefore, the only true God apart from whom there is no other god.
YHWH is God in the nominal sense, being identical to the one God.
Since Jesus is YHWH Incarnate (the YHWH who remains enfleshed forever), he is, therefore, God in the nominal sense, being the only divine Person who is identical to the one God.
As such the Father cannot be God in the nominal sense, but can only be divine predicatively, being God in the secondary sense, God by way of predication.

Obviously, no committed Bible-believing Christian who accepts what the inspired Scriptures teach about the Godhead could ever agree to such a conclusion.

Similarly, no true believer who submits to the accurate interpretation of what the Holy Bible teaches as a whole concerning the Trinity could or should ever affirm and/or promote the view that only the Father is God in the nominal sense. This is especially so for those Christians who accept the creeds and councils as authoritative, since they all affirm that the Son is God in the exact sense, and to the same extent that the Father is. The creeds even use the language of inspired Scripture to prove their case:

We believe in one God,

the Father almighty (hena theon ton patera pantokratora),

maker of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ (hena kyrion ‘Iesoun Christon),

the only begotten Son of God,

begotten from the Father before all ages,

light from light (phos ek photos),

true God from true God (theon alethinon ek theou alethinou),

begotten not made,

of one substance with the Father,

through Whom all things came into existence (di’ hou ta panta egeneto),

These statements from the creed are obvious references and allusions to John 1:1-4, 9-10, 14, 18; 3:16, 18; 8:12; 9:4-5; 1 Cor. 8:6; Heb. 1:2-3; 1 John 1:5-7; 5:20; Rev. 4:11.

Therefore, let the readers beware of and guard themselves against uninspired philosophies that are based on man-made traditions, which end up robbing Jesus Christ (as well as the Holy Spirit) of his/their undiminished eternal glory and essential equality to the Father. Rather, let the correct exegesis of the God-breathed Scriptures be our guide in correcting and refuting the so-called wisdom of the wise, which is based on the wicked elemental spirts influencing this fallen world, and not anchored in God’s revelation of himself:

“so that their hearts may be encouraged, having been held together in love, even unto all the wealth of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the stability of your faith in Christ. Therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and being built up in Him, and having been established in your faith—just as you were instructed—and abounding with thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells bodily, and in Him you have been filled, who is the head over all rule and authority;” Colossians 2:2-10

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased, through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may abolish the things that are, so that no flesh may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

“Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness’; and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.’ So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.” 1 Corinthians 3:18-23

Unless noted otherwise, scriptural references taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).

YHWH the only true God

One YHWH Jesus Christ

Philosophers: You Have a Problem!

Further Reading

Subscribe to Answering Islam - Sam Shamoun Theology