Expert: Messianic Rabbi Yochanan Levine - 10/4/2009

Question
JOH 14:6  Jesus says to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father unless by me.

JOH 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

JOH 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

JOH 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
JOH 7:39  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

So one can only have a relationship with the son if the father wills it. Yet one cannot approach the father to have a relationship with the son without already having a relationship with the son. And one can’t even count on the spirit to lead him to the son because one must have the son to have the spirit???? How does approach the Christian deity? Sounds an awful lot like Calvin’s predestination, in which case one must ask himself why go door to door or try to lead others to G-d since who is to be saved and who is damned is predetermined anyway. Does this really make sense to you?


Answer
Hi Joel,

Not all Christians believe in the Trinity (nor in the deity of Jesus). There is a long historic movement within the Church known as Arianism (not to be confused with Aryanism). I personally hold this view. I believe he was what he said he was, the Son of God.

However your presentation of the Nicean Trinity doctrine is incorrect.

The Belief is that there is only One God, not three. The Trinity doctrine states that the One God eternally exists in Three co-equal, co-eternal Persons. How this can be true is considered a sacred mystery.

According to this belief, God the Holy Spirit draws the lost to God the Son. They accept his death, burial and resurrection and are thereby saved by God the Father. One God doing it all.

According to Calvinism "God the Father" determined who He will save before the foundations of the Earth. While that was once a popular belief in the Church it no longer is that commonly believed.

Hope this clarifies this for you,

~ John of AllFaith