How Ephesians Contradicts Adventism #10 – Proclamation! Online Magazine

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Eph 4:1-6 ESV).

There are a few key points raised in this short passage. Several of those points are very practical in nature, addressing how followers live their lives. On these points, the Adventist understanding is consistent with, perhaps even undistinguishable from, typical evangelical teaching.

But there is also a very important doctrinal or theological teaching in this section as well. Based on the concise and repetitive nature of these statements, many conclude that it was the first creed-like statement of the Christian faith. Consider the statements on this list:

one body,
one Spirit,
one hope,
one Lord,
one faith,
one baptism, and
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

The parallel including the three persons of God is considered by Christian scholars as one of the biblical presentations of the Trinity. Given the Adventist church’s tepid embrace of everything relating to the Trinity (I’m not even diving into the all the flaws within Adventist theology regarding the Trinity) it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Adventist writings ignore and actively obscure this reference to the Trinity. The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (AdventistBC) makes no mention or comment about the obvious Trinitarian reference in this text. The Clear Word actively obscures the reference:

Make every effort to preserve the unity given to you by the Holy Spirit and you will be at peace with one another. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. There is one God and Father who is over everything, works through everything and now is in all of you.

By removing the parallelism between Spirit, Lord, and God the Father, The Clear Word lessens the impact of defining the Trinity within the statement. The Holy Spirit can be viewed as being in a different set from the Son and Father. It is particularly interesting that the obfuscation in The Clear Word specifically involves the Holy Spirit because there is a substantial and vociferous sub-set of Adventists who reject the notion that the Holy Spirit is a distinct person and instead believe that the Holy Spirit merely refers to the force by which God acts.

As with many things in Adventism, The Clear Word doesn’t actively deny the Trinity through these small changes. Instead it merely waters down the impact of the statement, making it easier to support a false theology. While the Adventist church has a belief statement regarding the Trinity, it would be incorrect to say that there is a unified Adventist doctrine of the Trinity. The Adventist belief statement is very vague and leaves out some very important elements that would clarify the meaning and limit the range of teachings that would be still be within the belief statement. The official Adventist belief statement reads:

There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three coeternal Persons. God is immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever present. He is infinite and beyond human comprehension, yet known through His self-revelation. God, who is love, is forever worthy of worship, adoration, and service by the whole creation.

It is possible to believe in the biblical doctrine of the Trinity, the doctrine taught be evangelical Christians and outlined by the ecumenical creeds, without contradicting this statement. Doctrinal teaching on the Trinity is woefully limited in Adventism. The current situation in evangelical Christianity isn’t much (or any) better. As a result of this limited instruction, many people have little idea what the doctrine of the Trinity actually means and therefore have only a vague personal belief on the matter.

The word Trinity, as many critics of the doctrine are quick to point out, doesn’t exist in Scripture. That fact actually makes the discussion easier rather than harder. The word Trinity is a term developed by the church to explain a shared and defined set of beliefs about God. There isn’t debate about the meaning of the word because the word was created to describe a specific meaning. Some of the key elements of the definition of Trinity:

At the most basic level, the Trinity explains that there is one God who exists as three distinct persons.
The persons of God are distinct. Each person of the Trinity has his own distinct consciousness and identity. It is not merely three different ways of seeing the same person.
There is one God. God is a single being, not a group of beings working closely together. Each person of God is fully God; God is not one-third each person.
The three persons of God are consubstantial. In simpler terms this means that all three persons are of one essence. This is fundamental to the idea of God being one and the notion of one being. Without existing as one being, the three persons of God would be three gods working together. This doctrine of “same substance” is the concept that makes the Trinity doctrine about three in one.
The three persons of God are coeternal. In other words, all three persons have always been God, and God always has and always will exist as these three persons.
The three persons of God are coequal. While distinct, each person of the Trinity has all the authority, qualities, and attributes of the others.

This is a very simple summary of a very complex and detailed doctrine. There are many nuances and implications that could be added to each of these bullet points. However, even in this quick summary some of the glaring gaps in Adventist theology regarding the Trinity are evident. The official Adventist beliefs do not define God to be a single being, and they leave out the consubstantial (or one essence) aspect of God. In the book Seventh-day Adventists Believe… the oneness of God is never described as one in being; instead it is described in the following ways (page 30):

God is one in purpose, mind and character.
There is no distance between the persons of the triune God. All three are divine, yet they share their divine powers and qualities…In the Godhead, final authority resides in all three members.
Order is the first law of heaven, and God works in orderly ways. This orderliness issues from and preserves the union within the Godhead.

In the biblical doctrine of the Trinity, the oneness, and therefore unity, of God exists because God is one being and essence. In the flawed (to the point of being heretical) Adventist church teachings regarding the Trinity, the oneness and unity of the Godhead are based on the close agreement and working relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The ongoing Adventist confusion and internal church controversy concerning the Trinity leads to the doctrine being frequently ignored and biblical passages teaching about the Trinity are often skimmed over with little time or thought given to their meaning. The Word of God should instruct and correct us in all things, but it can’t do that when it is skipped over or, worse yet, changed to better fit preconceived teachings. †

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Rick Barker

Rick Barker is a native of Southwestern Ohio and led a weekly Bible study for former SDAs in the area for over 10 years. Rick graduated from Andrews University in 1987 and received a Masters degree from the University of Dayton. He previously served on the staff of the Thomas Bilney Institute for Biblical Research and volunteered on the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website. He is an active member of his local Lutheran church, having served as an elder as well as both an adult and youth Sunday school teacher. Rick was a volunteer for 6 years and remains a participant on the discussion boards. Rick and his wife Sheryl formally left the SDA church in 2004. Prior to this they had been active in the Miamisburg and Wilmington Ohio churches.

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