- “To Christ has been given an exalted position. He has been made equal with the Father. All the counsels of God are opened to His Son.” {Ellen White: 8T 268.3, 1904}
Does the fact that Jesus received a place in the heavenly council from His Father mean “proof” that the council is a trio, and “proves” a Trinity? This statement only says that the Father made an independent decision to give open access to His Son, to make decisions together for the whole Universe. Why open? Because Jesus was first and always below Him.
- “Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father—one in nature, in character, in purpose — THE ONLY BEING that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God.“ {Ellen White: PP, p. 34.1}
- “God became one with man when, in the COUNCIL between the FATHER and the SON in heaven it was determined that IF (not after) man fell from His allegiance, the SON of God should be his Redeemer and restore in Him the moral image of God.“ {Ellen White, 1888 Materials, p. 869.2, 1891}
- “In the plan to save a lost world, the counsel was between them both; the covenant of peace was between the Father and the Son.” {Ellen White: ST, December 23, 1897 par. 2}
- “No man, nor even the highest angel, can estimate the great cost; it is known only to the Father and the Son.” {Ellen White: The Bible Echo, October 28, 1895 par. 4}
- “God informed Satan that to His Son ALONE he would reveal His secret purposes, and he required all the family in Heaven, even Satan, to yield Him implicit, unquestioned obedience; but that he (Satan) had proved himself unworthy a place in Heaven.” {Ellen White: 1SP, p. 22.2, 1870}
- “Before the assembled inhabitants of heaven the King declared that none but Christ, the Only Begotten of God, could fully enter into His purposes, and to Him it was committed to execute the mighty counsels of His will.“ {Ellen White: PP, p. 36.2, 1890}
- “Lucifer was envious and jealous of Jesus Christ. Yet when all the angels bowed to Jesus to acknowledge His supremacy and high authority and rightful rule, he bowed with them; but his heart was filled with envy and hatred. Christ had been taken into the special counsel of God (the Father) in regard to His plans, while lucifer was unacquainted with them. He did not understand, neither was he permitted to know, the purposes of God. But Christ was acknowledged sovereign of heaven, His power and authority to be the same as that of God Himself. Lucifer thought that he was himself a favorite in heaven among the angels. He had been highly exalted, but this did not call forth from him gratitude and praise to his Creator. He aspired to the height of God Himself.” {Ellen White: The Story of Redemption, p. 14.}
In the above quote, we see that even before the fall of man into sin, the counsel involved the presence of the Father and the Son alone. Why was the holy Spirit not present as the “third Being”? Proponents of the Trinity state that the holy Spirit has only withdrawn from His position for the plan of salvation, and that is why we don’t see “evidence” of his participation in the council of the “Trinity.” Then why was he not present before the coming of sin?
Would it not be strange if only the Father and the Son understood the plan of salvation if the holy Spirit were truly a Divine Being? The Father made the heavenly counsel only between Himself and His Son. Where is the holy Spirit in the heavenly council, if he is an independent Being? If the name God means a Trinity, then it would mean that Jesus exists twice. In these quotes we have the answer to why Lucifer was jealous of Jesus, because he was not called into the heavenly counsel like Jesus was. Lucifer could not join the counsel because he was a created being.
- “Christ the Word, the Only Begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father,–one in nature, in character, and in purpose,–THE ONLY Being in ALL THE UNIVERSE that could enter into all the COUNSELS and purposes of God (the Father).” {Ellen White: GC, “The Origin of Evil“ 1888, p. 493}
Here in the GC we read that, besides the Father, Jesus is the ONLY BEING IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE Who knows everything! Since Jesus is the Only One in the whole Universe, and not just on the planet Earth, who has the Father’s knowledge, how is it possible to claim that even though the holy Spirit is not mentioned as the third “God”, he was of course “also present”? Are there two Universes? The Gospel of Matthew states that Jesus healed two possessed men. Luke and Mark mentioned only one person when they described this same event.
Advocates of the Trinity argue that, just as Mark and Luke mentioned one person out of two, although the holy Spirit is not mentioned it doesn’t mean that he wasn’t there. During Jesus’ sojourn on Earth, there were always sick people around Him, Whom He healed in His boundless love. The apostles described the events that were most important to their eyes. That is why Mark and Luke mentioned only one person, probably the sickest, and Matthew mentions two people, but this is not against the Bible. This only shows us that the apostles had different views of details, as did the prophets of the Old Testament. But none of them wrote that there are only one or two possessed people on Earth and in the whole Universe!
In fact, the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy clearly tell us who God is and where He is. There does not a God the holy Spirit but only the Spirit of God! If the holy Spirit were also God, then we would pray to Him too! God’s word says that God is a Spirit, but also that he is the Father of Jesus. This is about the Father and not about the non-existent “God the holy Spirit“. We know that the holy Spirit speaks in clear words as the voice of the Father and of Jesus, like when he spoke to the Ethiopian, or as the inner voice of our conscience. Both ways of speaking refer to the holy Spirit.
This Text is part of the book First Commandment OR Trinity? – Encyclopedia of Evidences of the Old Trampled Truths of All Areas