PDF Notes

The reader will find below a numbered series of thoughts that were put together by a currently employed Seventh-day Adventist pastor in an effort to establish the doctrine of the trinity using mostly Ellen White’s writings. These thoughts came to me in the order following, and were originally numbered as they are. I’ve added responses in blue considering the context of each passage with additional Bible verses.

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1st:

We cannot define or understand the Holy Spirit beyond what inspiration says.

“It is not essential for you to know and be able to define just what the Holy Spirit is. Christ tells us that the Holy Spirit is the comforter, and the Comforter is the Holy Ghost, “the Spirit of truth, which the Father shall send in My name.” EGW letter to Brother Chapman, June 11th, 1891, Manuscript Release Volume 14, No. 1107).

      • Chapman was saying that the Holy Spirit was Gabriel. Please read the entire letter. Without that context it’s impossible to understand what EGW meant. This quote referred to above is only a small part of a paragraph that actually tries to explain what the Holy Spirit is! She wrote in that same paragraph, “This refers to the omnipresence of the Spirit of Christ, called the Comforter” (Lt7-1891.14).
      • How could EGW refer to the “Comforter” as the Spirit of Christ? Because the Bible refers to the Comforter as the “Spirit of truth,” as referenced in the quote above. Who is the truth? John 14:6 tells us that Christ is the truth, and it is the Spirit of truth.
      • Please study the letter in its entirety before proceeding, as the full context of this letter itself will not allow for the concepts of a trinity.
      • Here’s a six minute video explaining similar thoughts from another letter: https://youtu.be/UXeLAXm5k0g

“There are many mysteries which I do not seek to understand or to explain; they are too high for me, and too high for you. On some of these points, silence is golden. Piety, devotion, sanctification of soul, body, and spirit–this is essential for us all. “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” (Ibid)

      • This too is only part of a paragraph from the same letter, and the verse quoted, John 17:3, is one EGW used every time in a non-trinitarian context. Please consider studying what EGW said in regard to John 17:3, and the context of each quote.
      • If EGW was a non-trinitarian in the year of this letter (1891), and then became trinitarian a few years after (with the publication of The Desire of Ages, in 1898, as many Seventh-day Adventist leaders often express today) where is her renunciation of her previous misunderstanding?

“Those who seek to define God are on forbidden ground. We are to enter into no controversy regarding God—what He is and what He is not. He, the Omniscient One, is above discussion. Those who express such sentiments regarding Him show that they are departing from the faith.” Letter 240-1903.

“Let no one teach things that the Redeemer, He who owns man, body, soul, and Spirit has not taught. We need not any fanciful teaching regarding the personality of God.” Letter 240, 1903.

      • The context must be considered and brought into these thoughts. This was a letter written to the leaders and students of the medical school. Dr. John Kellogg had been sharing his spiritualistic concepts (she referred to The Living Temple in the previous sentence, which was the start of the original paragraph of the quote above) and EGW was quite worried. Kellogg was later to believe that God is a trinity. Here is a broader context of her thoughts:
      • “It would be a fearful mistake for them [the students] to neglect the study of God’s Word for a study of theories that are misleading, diverting minds from the words of Christ to fallacies of human production” (Lt240-1903.3).
      • The trinity is a fallacy of human production.
      • For example, where are trinitarian terms found in inspiration? (Such as trinity, tritheism, triunity, co-eternal, three-in-one, one god in three persons, god the son, god the spirit, and the like?)

2nd:

Christ Refers to the Holy Spirit as “He”.

John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

      • I have bolded the important words in these verses (all of the bolded words are my doing, as there were no bolded or underlined words in the original thoughts from the SDA pastor). Christ dwelled with them, and His Spirit would be in them (that is why Paul said, “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” Galatians 4:6). Teaching anything otherwise is contrary to Scripture and should be avoided.
      • If the Holy Spirit was with the disciples already (as Christ had said, “He dwells with you”), why would Christ later say in the future tense, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7)? Is there something here the trinitarian doctrine isn’t explaining?
      • Please consider the notes from a study of the Greek word “allos,” which is translated “another” https://www.revelationwithdaniel.com/allos-in-the-new-testament/

John 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

      • “While being present with you…” Hadn’t Christ just said in 14:17, “He dwells with you?” Christ often spoke in the “third person” grammatically. Look up the 88 times in the NT the word “Son of man” is used. It is almost entirely used while Christ was speaking of Himself, to the point which, at the end of His ministry people said, “Who is this Son of man?” (John 12:34).
      • The “Helper,” or “Comforter,” as it is known more commonly, will teach and bring all things to remembrance. Interestingly, God uses angels to do those specific tasks. Notice who helped William Miller as he was studying, “Angels of heaven were guiding his mind and opening the Scriptures to his understanding” (GC 320.2). Also, in the same book, notice who teaches and brings things to our remembrance, “Angels are round about those who are willing to be taught in divine things; and in the time of great necessity they will bring to their remembrance the very truths which are needed” (GC 599.3).
      • Just to be sure, angels are not the Holy Spirit, but they are “heavenly agents,” “heavenly messengers,” the “agencies of Heaven,” “pure and holy spirits,” “ministering spirits,” or “instrumentalities” that God sends to do His bidding. Study the angels from a non-trinitarian perspective and you will be amazed that we have put a mystical god-being without a body, a crown, or a throne in the place of what is called the “agency of the Spirit,” and a slew of other terms that describe the truth of the matter. Notice just two paragraphs that would be impossible for EGW to write as a trinitarian:
      • “We have an Advocate pleading in our behalf. The Holy Ghost is continually engaged in beholding our course of action. We need now keen perception, that by our own practical godliness the truth may be made to appear truth as it is in Jesus. The angelic agencies are messengers from heaven, actually ascending and descending, keeping earth in constant connection with the heaven above. These angel messengers are observing all our course of action. They are ready to help all in their weakness, guarding all from moral and physical danger according to the providence of God. And whenever souls yield to the softening, subduing influence of the Spirit of God under these angel ministrations, there is joy in heaven; the Lord Himself rejoices with singing.
        Men take altogether too much glory to themselves. It is the work of heavenly agencies cooperating with human agencies according to God’s plan that brings the result in the conversion and sanctification of the human character. We cannot see and could not endure the glory of angelic ministrations if their glory was not veiled in condescension to the weakness of our human nature. The blaze of the heavenly glory, as seen in the angels of light, would extinguish earthly mortals. Angels are working upon human minds just as these minds are given to their charge; they bring precious remembrances fresh before the mind as they did to the women about the sepulcher” (1SM 96.2-3).
      • Holy angels read the thoughts of God’s people: “Did you forget that angels of God were in attendance, and that their pure eyes were reading your thoughts, the intents and purposes of the heart, and taking cognizance of every act, and delineating your true, frivolous character?” (2T 180.2). Yet evil angels are not allowed that privilege: “Satan has his evil angels around us; and though they cannot read men’s thoughts, they closely watch their words and actions” (RH April 8, 1884, par. 2).
      • Regarding the “Helper” or “Comforter,” there are only five times in the KJV that the Greek word for “Comforter” is used (four times translated “Comforter,” once translated “Advocate.”). Notice each of the times in the following verses, and notice what name the author of each one of those verses gives the Comforter (hint: it’s in the last verse)—
          • John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
          • John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
          • John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
          • John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
          • 1John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
          • Please consider Acts 20:28 which says, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” Does the Holy Spirit have blood? Or are we talking as did Paul (Galatians 4:6) and John (John 14:1), that the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ that purchased us “with his own blood?” (Also, to apply the last part of the verse to God the Father, whose church it is, means that God would have died and shed His blood, but Christ said of His Father, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” Therefore, the Father has no flesh or blood to bleed.)

John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

      • We have already seen that God the Father “hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son,” but we can see here that the Spirit is the “Spirit of truth.” Jesus has previously said in the same sermon, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. This is why EGW could write, “We want the Holy Spirit, which is Jesus Christ” (Lt66-1894.18).

John 16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

      • The reason the Spirit doesn’t speak on His own authority is because it does not have its own authority. The Spirit sent from the Father is the Spirit of Christ. The Spirit of Christ is under authority today just as much as it was when Christ was personally “with” the disciples. So, when someone has Christ’s Spirit, that person is just as much under the rule, or authority, of God the Father as Christ was while He was on the earth.
      • You’ll notice that Christ spoke only the words of His Father while on this earth by watching this ten minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtuQuhmvZkY. The notes are in the description of the video.

3rd:

The Holy Spirit must be separate from the Father and the Son, as sinning against Him is not-forgivable:

Matt. 12:31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

Mark 3:28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

      • “By rejecting the light that was shining upon them, by refusing to examine the evidence to see whether the messages were from heaven, the Pharisees sinned against the Holy Ghost. Christ, the world’s Redeemer, was in the world. “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not…. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” The voice of his Spirit came to them, saying, “This is the Son of God; believe on him.” But turning their faces from the light, they refused to listen, choosing, instead, to cultivate their unbelief. Thus the light which, if received, would have been to them a savor of life unto life, rejected, became a savor of death unto death,—death to spirituality.” RH July 27, 1897, par. 2
      • Just after quoting the verse in question from Matthew 12:31, EGW wrote the above words. She never referred to anything like “God the Spirit.” She always referred to the “Spirit of God” or like bolded in the previous reference, the Spirit of Christ. EGW’s thoughts are what the Bible teaches:
      • “…Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father…” (John 15:26).
      • “He [Christ] breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22).

Luke 12:10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

      • Many trinitarians will use these verses, unintentionally I’m sure, to make it sound like they believe the Holy Spirit is more important than the Father or His Son. We could reject and blaspheme the Father and/or His Son, but WOE TO THE MAN who speaks against the Holy Ghost! If understood as a non-trinitarian, one who rejects the Father or His Son is blaspheming the Spirit of both!
      • “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). THAT is the Holy Spirit. Judas understood it was Christ speaking of Himself, see 14:22.
      • Consider Romans 8: “Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:9-11). This section helps explain the broader context of the intercessor comments in Romans 8:26 and 34. It’s Christ’s Spirit—the only “mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy 2:5).
      • “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).
      • Also, if we reject either the Father or the Son, we will then partake of the last eschatological spirit mentioned in the Revelation, brought out by the same author here, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father” (1 John 2:22).
      • If it were more important to deny the Holy Ghost, rather than the Father or His Son, why didn’t John pick that up in the context of the antichrist? Was he trying to be unclear?
      • Notice a different thought EGW says about the blasphemy against the Spirit: “What constitutes the sin against the Holy Ghost? It is willfully attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit” (5T 634.1), something being done by countless numbers today.

4th:

The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as separate entity in the Godhead

      • A separate entity “in the Godhead” is never found in all of inspiration. It’s a man made concept that is a misunderstanding of God’s divinity. The word Godhead means divinity. There are none “in” the divinity. “The Father IS all the fullness of the Godhead bodily… The Son IS all the fullness of the Godhead manifested… The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit IN all the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour” (BTS March 1, 1906, par. 1-2). (Remember Galatians 4:6.)
      • I understand fully that the “three living persons” are mentioned later in the previous quote, but please understand what was written just before that when trying to extract three gods. The Father is all, the Son manifested all (as “it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell” Colossians 1:19), and the Spirit is IN all the fullness—not IS all… Why, because the Spirit is somehow different? No, because the Spirit makes “manifest the power of divine grace to all…” Notice what Steps to Christ says about grace:
      • “They must have His grace, the Spirit of Christ, to help their infirmities, or they cannot resist evil” (SC 52.2). Here grace is defined as the Spirit of Christ. In the paragraph in question we were told that the Spirit makes manifest the power of divine grace—the Spirit of Christ. Notice a sentence in the next paragraph of Steps to Christ:
      • “Strength [power] and grace have been provided through Christ to be brought by ministering angels to every believing soul” (SC 52.3). So again, we are here talking about the “agency” of the Spirit (not a third god), and the instrumentalities used—the angels.
      • No wonder EGW said that Lucifer was the third most honored in heaven. “Satan in Heaven, before his rebellion, was a high and exalted angel, next in honor to God’s dear Son” (1SP 17.1). The number one most honored was God the Father. The number two most honored was God’s dear Son. The number three most honored was Lucifer. Today, it’s Gabriel in the place of Lucifer (See Desire of Ages page 99.1), not god the holy spirit.

1John 5:6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

      • The official Seventh-day Adventist position on these verses says people should not use these words to support the trinity. Please notice carefully the following:
      • “The passage as given in the KJV is in no Greek MS earlier than the 15th and 16th centuries. The disputed words found their way into the KJV by way of the Greek text of Erasmus (see Vol. V, p. 141). It is said that Erasmus offered to include the disputed words in his Greek Testament if he were shown even one Greek MS that contained them. A library in Dublin produced such a MS (known as 34), and Erasmus included the passage in his text. It is now believed that the later editions of the Vulgate acquired the passage by the mistake of a scribe who included an exegetical marginal comment in the Bible text that he was copying. The disputed words have been widely used in support of the doctrine of the Trinity, but, in view of such overwhelming evidence against their authenticity, their support is valueless and should not be used. In spite of their appearance in the Vulgate A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture freely admits regarding these words: “It is now generally held that this passage, called the Comma Johanneum, is a gloss that crept into the text of the Old Latin and Vulgate at an early date, but found its way into the Greek text only in the 15th and 16th centuries” (Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1951, p. 1186).” — (The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 675)
      • Please read the broader context of the SDA Bible Commentary for this verse—though you’ll have to find it in a book, as it seems to be harder to find online… (Why?!…)

Note: This is very similar to Ellen White’s comment:

“There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized and these powers will cooperate with the obedient.” In Heavenly Places, 336

      • Please read again the above comments that start just after the “4th” comment.

5th:

The Holy Spirit is separately referred to during baptism, at the direction of Jesus

Matt. 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the (1) Father and of the (2) Son and of the (3) Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

      • These verses are unfortunately being taken to say what they are not saying. The Father is the title of His place in the “Royal Family,” as EGW puts it. The Son is the title of Christ’s place in the “Royal Family,” and the outworking of the Holy Spirit is referred to in the next verse, which is in concert with Paul’s understanding, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20). Notice verse 20 of Matthew 28 which says, “I am with you always…” Who’s the “I”? It’s Christ. How? “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6). God only has one Son, Jesus, and it is the life of His life that has been sent—His Spirit.
      • Every time the Bible gives an example of the apostles baptizing, it was consistently in the name of Jesus Christ (See Acts 2:38, 8;12, 16, 36-38, 10:47-48, 19:3-5, 22:16).
      • Romans 6 explains that baptism is entering into the death of Jesus Christ—not God the Father, or ‘god the holy spirit.’ We are baptized in the name of Christ and brought into the “Royal Family” of the Father and His Son by adoption through the name of Christ.
      • Without any confusion, Matthew 28:19 is not describing three gods with one name. “In the name” often represents authority in the Bible (See these few select references: Deuteronomy 18:5, 20, 22, Ezra 5:1, Psalm 20:5, Isaiah 50:10, etc.)

6th:

Ellen White is clear that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead

      • Person, according to Websters 1828 Dictionary can mean “Character of office.” (Click this link to see definition number six.)
      • Look up the words “office Spirit” in EGW’s writings for a more thorough explanation of inspiration on this point.

9 “Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead.” The Desire of Ages, 671.

      • “Third person” was not capitalized in the original publication of 1898, of which I own a copy. Trinitarian thinking has led publishers to title case the phrase third person, which is misleading which brought a plethora of spiritualistic concepts regarding a third-god-being.
      • What’s more interesting is that the paragraph both starts and ends with terms that are explaining the meaning of this phrase in question. The first and last sentences are as follows: “In describing to His disciples the office work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus sought to inspire them with the joy and hope that inspired His own heart… Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church” (DA 671.2).
      • What is just as important to what is described in that paragraph as to what the “third person” in question is—the Spirit of Christ—comes chronologically before this page was written. On page 324.1 the same author in the same book said, “The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness.” (It’s the Spirit, or mind of Christ, that dwells in us, not the physical Christ who is with His Father which is in Heaven. See Philippians 2:5.)

“He determined to give His representative, the third person of the Godhead.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1053; The Signs of the Times, December 12, 1898, par. 2; The Watchman, November 28, 1905, par. 2; My Life Today, 36.

      • In most publications of EGW’s writings, the original words were not added by the publishers as EGW had written them—and the quote referenced above is another proof. Notice the original intent of the author: “Christ determined to bestow a gift on those who had been with Him and on those who should believe on Him, because this was the occasion of His ascension and inauguration, a jubilee in heaven. What gift could Christ bestow rich enough to signalize and grace His ascension to the mediatorial throne? It must be worthy of His greatness and His royalty. Christ gave His representative, the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. This gift could not be excelled. The divine Spirit, converting, enlightening, sanctifying, would be His donation, because He would give all gifts in one” (Ms44-1898.11).

“Evil had been accumulating for centuries and could only be restrained and resisted by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Godhead.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 392, (Cooranbong, Australia, February 6, 1896); The Upward Look, 51; Special Testimonies for Ministers and Workers—No. 10, 25; Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, 34; vol. 4, 329; vol. 10, 63; The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 4, 1493.

      • Since we know that the same author has said, “Christ gave His representative, the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit,” which was His gift as a donation, we know that each phrase referring to those terms are referring to the Spirit that Christ gave—His own.
          • When considering the word spirit, please contemplate what your spirit is. Nebuchadnezzar’s spirit was troubled, and so was Daniel’s (Daniel 2:1, 7:15). Does that mean someone other than either of them was troubled? No! It means they, in their minds, were troubled. Your spirit can be many things (joyful, ashamed, inspired, willing, mad, confused, grieved), but it cannot be someone other than yourself—except in terms of spiritualism, which is demonic. These type of thoughts help better understand how the Spirit of Christ can be grieved (it’s His mind that is grieved).

“The eternal heavenly dignitaries—God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit—arming them [the disciples] with more than mortal energy, . . . would advance with them to the work and convince the world of sin.—Manuscript 145, 1901.” Evangelism, 616.

      • Consider again the “agency” of the Spirit, the “heavenly agencies,” the “instrumentalities,” the “constant communications,” study the ladder of Jacob’s vision (Genesis 28:12) and how Christ applied it (John 1:51), and a thousand other ways to see these thoughts from a non-trinitarian perspective, and you’ll see that this is NOT speaking of a third god. Ellen White was not a trinitarian or tritheist. The sentence directly in front of the sentence that starts this quote from Evangelism talks about angels… oh, how far we have gone from the truths that were intended…

“The prince of the power of evil can only be held in check by the power of God in the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.”—Special Testimonies, Series A, No. 10, p. 37. (1897)” Ibid., 617.

“We are to co-operate with the three highest powers in heaven,—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,—and these powers will work through us, making us workers together with God.”—Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, p. 51. (1905)” Ibid.

“Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the third person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power.” The Desire of Ages, 671; Review and Herald, May 19, 1904, par. 3; November 19, 1908, par. 6. See also Special Testimonies for Ministers and Workers—No. 10, 25; The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 4, 1493.

“The three powers of the Godhead have pledged their might to carry out the purpose that God had in mind when he gave to the world the unspeakable gift of his Son.” Review and Herald, July 18, 1907, par. 3.

“The three powers of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are pledged to be their [those who have been baptized] strength and their efficiency in their new life in Christ Jesus.” Australasian Union Conference Record, October 7, 1907, par. 9.

“There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized and these powers will cooperate with the obedient.” In Heavenly Places, 336; Evangelism, 615.

“There are three living persons of the heavenly trio. In the name of these three powers,—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will cooperate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.” Bible Training School, March 1, 1906, par. 2; Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, 63.

“The rite of baptism is administered in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. These three great powers of heaven pledge themselves . . . .” Manuscript Releases, vol. 6, 27.

      • Looking at all of these quotes, after studying the phrases suggested in the previous bullet pointed comment, I can see clearly that EGW was taken out of context to sound as though she believed in three gods, but this is a farce and we must seriously consider the context of each quote, looking for what she meant with the various terms that she used. Admittedly, I used to believe just as this pastor believes about all of these quotes, but today, having studied these concepts more diligently, I am no longer an unintended idolater. I have repented. I invite all who read these words to learn from Ellen White, the author of the quotes in question, what she intended for us to understand, not what men understand.

7th:

The Temple of the Holy Spirit is within our hearts.

      • The previous quotes have been taken out of context to lead anyone who reads them to believe that the Spirit is a god, and if we are the temples of that god, we logically should worship ourselves or others who we deem holy, as they too would have a god within them! This is modern day spiritualism.
      • The word “temple” in the New Testament, representing God’s people, is often referred to in the plural. In the King James Bible, ye, you, and your are plural terms, as thee and thou are singular. Therefore, when the Bible says, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16), “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Corinthians 3:17), and “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19), it is using the terms that are plural. This means that each person making up God’s church is not a separate temple themselves, but rather, they are “lively stones… built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). So, while each of us are in the building and transformation (sanctification) process, we are being prepared to be set in our own respective places in God’s temple (church) so the temple can be finally completed and the glory of the Lord will fill it (symbolizing the latter rain and the completion of God’s work on earth).
      • This is along the same lines as to why Christ had said, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

It is a sacred work in which we are engaged. The apostle Paul exhorts his brethren, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” [2 Corinthians 7:1.] It is a duty that we owe to God to keep the spirit pure, as a temple for the Holy Ghost. If the heart and mind are devoted to the service of God, obeying all his commandments, loving him with all the heart, might, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, we shall be found loyal and true to the requirements of Heaven. CTBH 161.2

1Cor. 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

The spiritual work of our sanitariums is not to be under the control of physicians. This work requires thought and tact, and a broad knowledge of the Bible. Ministers possessing these qualifications should be connected with our sanitariums. They should uplift the standard of temperance from a Christian point of view, showing that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and bringing to the minds of the people the responsibility resting upon them as God’s purchased possession to make mind and body a holy temple, fit for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.—Testimonies for the Church 7:75 (1902)

8th:

The holy Spirit is the “Spirit of Christ” in the same sense as Jesus was the Father

      • I’m deciding that the last part of this phrase was not fully intended, as to say that “Jesus was the Father” would prove that the pastor does not know God. Kindly but honestly I would have to say the following… this is SAD, not SDA.

John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

“The work of the Holy Spirit is immeasurably great. It is from this source that power and efficiency come to the worker for God; and the Holy Spirit is the comforter, as the personal presence of Christ to the soul.” The Home Missionary, November 1, 1893

      • This is why EGW could say, “Jesus comes to you as the Spirit of truth” (2MR 337.1). Please read that entire paragraph from 2MR.
      • This is why EGW could say, “The reason why the churches are weak and sickly and ready to die, is that the enemy has brought influences of a discouraging nature to bear upon trembling souls. He has sought to shut Jesus from their view as the Comforter, as one who reproves, who warns, who admonishes them, saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” Christ has all power in heaven and in earth, and he can strengthen the wavering, and set right the erring. He can inspire with confidence, with hope in God; and confidence in God always results in creating confidence in one another.” RH August 26, 1890, par. 10
      • The Old Testament verse referred to is Isaiah 30:21 which says, “Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” EGW equated that verse to Christ, the Comforter. If one teaches otherwise, they would have come to a false understanding and cannot give the last message to a dying world, the three angels` message.

“The voice of God calls you as it did Elijah. Come out of the cave and stand with God and hear what He will say unto you. When you will come under the divine guidance, the Comforter will lead you into all truth. The office of the Holy Spirit is to take the things of Christ as they fall from His lips, and infuse them as living principles into the hearts opened to receive them. Then we will know both the Father and the Son.” Manuscript releases volume 14, no. 1106, Letter 40 To Uriah Smith, December 31st 1890, pp. 10-11).

      • Precisely! “It is the office of heavenly angels to prepare the heart so to comprehend God’s word that we shall be charmed with its beauty, admonished by its warnings, or animated and strengthened by its promises” (GC 599.3).
      • Think again about the agency, agencies, instrumentalities, workers, and all the other terms that EGW places within the “agency of the Holy Spirit.”
      • I appeal to all to study much more than just the third person quotes to conclude something never intended by the author, under the guidance of Jesus Christ, who’s Spirit was in all the prophets as written by Peter: “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace [Spirit of Christ, SC 52.3] that should come unto you. 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (1 Peter 1:10-11).
      • “My dearly beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14).
      • “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen” (1 John 5:21).

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      • My hope and challenge is that every Seventh-day Adventist pastor around the world would honestly and diligently study the subject of the trinity. It’s not what the original Seventh-day Adventist church was built upon, and it wasn’t officially a teaching of the Seventh-day Adventist church until the general conference of 1980 in Dallas, Texas. Learn the history. Please do your homework and ask as many questions as you can.
        These issues are eschatological in nature, dealing with the root of the mark of the beast and the seal of God prophecies. The sign of the true worship of God is obedience to God’s Commandments, including Sabbath keeping (see 9T 156.1), but what if one has the wrong god? What if SDAs have been diligent at keeping the fourth Commandment but have been breaking the first?
        Recall the Jewish nation during the time of Christ; they had the right day but the wrong god! God had so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son whom they completely rejected and crucified! They didn’t want the gifts that God the Father had given. In a similar way today, “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6), but it’s said throughout the SDA world that it’s really not the Spirit of His Son, but rather, someone else—a spirit-god-being without a form, which is spiritualism! The Bible teaches, “The body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26), and it’s conversely true—the spirit without the body is dead as well!
        Please, read Patriarchs and Prophets chapter one again for the first time. Read the 29th chapter, “The Origin of Evil,” again from The Great Controversy. Read the first chapter of Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 1. May God prepare us for the soon coming of His Son.

Lovingly written by pastor Daniel Mesa (senior or credentialed SDA pastor, 2000-2016).

 

An End Time Poem for All SDAs:

By Pastor Daniel Mesa at RevelationWithDaniel.com

Trouble is before us; the mark of the beast,
And we must now plead with our High Priest,
To deliver us all from certain death,
To give God glory with every breath.

We are now living at the end of time,
All are encouraged toward on upward climb.
It’s impossible to describe the solemnity,
We all must have toward eternity.

One great question, is it the Spirit of Christ,
Or a demonic and spiritualistic poltergeist?
We all must know, and this is for sure,
As we don’t want the devil, most concur.

Is there a Father, and is there a Son?
Is God a tri-unity, making three in one?
Is the Spirit a ghost, a breath, or a wind?
Or the Spirit of Christ that the Father did send?

The Bible does bring us the mind of our Lord.
We CHOOSE to be brothers of one accord.
But we cannot be united outside of the truth,
As God is preparing His army of youth.

The Bible has shown us the only true God,
And everything else is declared Ichabod!
The Father, the Son, the Spirit—it’s true…
But don’t be fooled, it is Christ in you!

Is a divine being within each body?
Or are we a temple, three gods to embody?
How have we come so far to be blind,
That it’s the Spirit of God, His will or His mind?

Many people today have an affinity,
For what the Bible does not call the trinity.
It is outside of Scripture from its conception,
And is now for the world a grand deception!

What is your spirit, a ghost or a form?
No! That’s spiritualism, Laodicean, lukewarm?!
So while we are waiting as a bride for the Groom,
I ask the question, where did this come Froom?

In finding the answers we must pray for the truth!
We must search high and low in the Bible—a sleuth!
In Revelation it’s a demon, a spirit, or frog,
But in Adventist history, it’s a doctor, Kellogg!