David K. Bernard: First Message at UPCI General Conference (2005) 

God bless Brother- so wonderful to see the work of the Lord going forward!

Brother....From MIZORAM. .India

Amen

Amen

I believe in Oneness because it is taught by both the Bible and natural theology. _Elohim_ means God or gods depending on the modifying verb. Whenever God is referenced with Elohim, the modifying verb is always singular. Yes, man is made in the image of God, but we are one person, not three. The Bible over 9,000 times refers to God with singular pronouns which are by definition referencing one person (I, me, myself, mine, He, His, Himself, Him). Finally, the soul is PART of a human. The spirit is PART of a human. The body is PART of a human. The doctrine of the Trinity (DT) teaches that each person is FULLY God, so your analogy for the Trinity doesn't work. God is not a composite unity for all composites are assemblages of parts with each part by definition being a fraction of the whole. Moreover, the whole is dependent on its parts for its existence, but God, again by definition, is not dependent on anything for His existence, especially those things which are not God. The DT, in all its forms, entails logical contradictions. Since the Bible doesn't teach logical contradictions, it follows that the Bible doesn't teach the Trinity. Three fully divine persons who are different from each other are three gods by definition. "Is there a God beside ME? Yea, there is NO God. I KNOW NOT ANY."

@@davidcoleman5860 Hi David Coleman; I read all that you had to say and found fault with those expressions you have used, your first interpretation of Elohim is not correct, El in Hebrew is God in the singular, meaning mono theism, and him in the Hebrew is plurality, meaning one single God who is plural, your definition defeats what God believes about himself. Secondly, when Elohim said let us make man in our image male and female, that did you not understand about let us? A single God in the plural said let us, meaning he is triune by his own words, and I am also triune. Now you have tried to side step the very image of God himself as man is a spirit, soul and body, why deny the truth that is so obvious. My spirit has a body and a mind, my soul has a body and a mind, my body also has a mind. I am three very distinct one from the other in scripture, for the rich man that went to hell his body rotted in the grave but his soul had a body and he saw, spoke, heard and said he had a tongue, meaning he had a real body even in hell, and he remembered his five brothers on the earth, meaning the soul has a mind. This is how we know God as being triune just as his image is triune. Now if you could make me to be oneness, by saying my spirit is my soul and my soul is my body, maybe you could pervert the doctrine of the godhead, but since you cannot prove that oneness works in the creature, than it cannot work in the creator either. At the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ was the voice from heaven as the Father said this is my beloved Son, the Holy Ghost descended from heaven and the Lord Jesus was on earth, looks like Elohim to me as all three showed up at the same time. This is also seen on the mount of transfiguration when all three showed up in like manor. But did you know that Jesus had a God before he died? Mark 15:34 did you know that after he was raised from the dead being resurrected he still had a God? John 20:17 Did you know that after the Lord Jesus returns to rule the earth for a millennium he will then become subject to his God? 1 Cor. 15:24-28 Furthermore the Lord Jesus taught that while he was on earth the Father and the Holy Spirit were in him, and while he made that statement he went on to say that he was also in heaven inside the Father?

@@777lilibeth It is clear that you do not speak Hebrew, so it is pointless for you to attempt to instruct me in a language that you do not speak. I personally know native Hebrew speakers, and trinitarian Hebrew scholars also reject the notion that it refers to a Trinity or a plurality of persons in God. First, from an Israeli professor who teaches Hebrew: In Hebrew, one word alone does not make it plural or singular. To know if _elohim_ is singular or plural, it must be in a sentence where it either receives a plural suffix, it receives a plural verb and/or it receives a plural adjective. Whenever _elohim_ references God, it does not have a plural verb form (e.g. Ge. 1:3 wherein we have the singular _vayomer elohim_ (and God said), not _vayom'ru_ which is the plural inflection of "they said"). In the rare instances of plural verbs or adjectives, the context always conclusively denotes a numerical singularity. _Elohim_ speaks to the majesty of the entity, a ruler or a judge. The "im" ending denotes power and majesty. Said word is used to describe HaShem when with respect to His judging or ruling ("el" referring to force). Trinitarian scholar, Mark D. Futato, writes, "So, why the plural form if the referent is singular? The best answer is that this is an 'honorific plural,' that is to say, a plural used to show honor to a singular referent. Such an honorific plural is used for humans in texts like 1Kings 1:43, where we read, 'our lord King David.' The Hebrew word translated 'lord' in this case is plural, even though it refers to the singular David. This honorific plural is also used of God elsewhere in texts like Psalm 8:1, where we read, 'O LORD, our Lord….' In this text "LORD" (small caps) translates YHWH, while 'Lord' translates a common noun for 'master,' which is in this text plural in form though referring to the singular YHWH. So Psalm 8:1 could be translated 'O YHWH, our Master….'" Even John Calvin denied that _Elohim_ could be used as an adequate proof of the Trinity, so in no manner am I simply parroting fellow Oneness theologians in denying that _Elohim_ denotes a sort of composite unity in God. Now to the rest of your reply in the next post.

@@777lilibeth With respect to "let us make man in our image," I've addressed the idea of a compound unity in God and why it entails logical contradictions. I didn't "side step" anything you wrote, but you completely ignored my argument against composition. Moreover, my argument against composition is also made by the majority of TRINITARIAN scholars because they consider your view of the Trinity heretical. All composites are dependent by definition and thus cannot serve as a model for the Trinity. Moreover, the creation account is given many times in the Old Testament and EVERY time the Creator is described with singular pronouns. In fact the next verse (27) states, "So God created man in HIS own image. In the image of God created HE him. Male and female created HE them." Thus ONE PERSON created man. In fact, Jesus said, "Have ye not read that HE which made THEM in the beginning, made THEM male and female?" God spoke through Isaiah (44:24) - "I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens ALONE; that spreadeth abroad the earth by MYSELF." Psalm 100 says, "It is HE that hath made US and not we ourselves." Accounts such as these are given repeatedly in the OT making it positively clear that one person was involved in the actual creation. As Jews have noted (again, they speak Hebrew, you don't), the "us" is either the majestic plural or God was speaking to the angels. And NO, the angels didn't actually create, but they observed God creating and worshipped while He did so (Job 38:1-7). If you have children, you've probably said quite often, "Let's (let us) go buy some ice cream," when of course you're the only one doing the buying. By saying "let us," you're simply including them in what you purpose to do. Your attempt to cash in on humans having a spirit, soul and body fails for the obvious reason that you're just one person---PERIOD. If you want to say that God has multiple characteristics, then you're really a Oneness believer who calls his doctrine "Trinity." We do not dispute that God is many attributes, but He (there's that singular personal pronoun again) remains numerically singular---ONE PERSON. Even if Oneness is biblically mistaken (it's not), the Trinity isn't true by default. As I've told you, the DT in all its forms entails logical contradictions and cannot be true even if the Oneness doctrine is false. If contradictions are true, then everything the Bible says becomes meaningless. Since contradictions cannot be true, it follows that the Bible cannot teach the Trinity. If you dispute that, then the onus is on you to prove how three different persons who are each fully God can be but one God. I've already addressed the composite unity argument, so you'll need to reply to it if you find yourself unable to disentangle yourself from its logical mess. I remind you, the majority of trinitarians reject that as heretical. Do you know what the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity is? Given your statements above, I doubt it.

@@davidcoleman5860 Hi David Coleman, your argument based upon majority or even the 9,000 places where you think God used me or myself is worthless to me, First God could have said let me make man in my image, but he did not, he said let us make man in our image. Secondly you said he was talking to the angels when he did this, sorry but your lack of knowledge concerning when angels were created is evident, the bible is clear that no angels were created until after God made man, actually Adam was standing there watching them being created. Since you are ignorant of truth I will ask you a thing, did God make trees on the third day of creation? Why then is he making trees in front of Adam after he rested? Genesis 2:8-9 He already formed trees from the dust of the earth but now he is making trees from the dust of the Garden of Eden. Make note these are two different things, the Garden was never created but it was planted, meaning God took it from somewhere, now since I do not believe you have figured out where he took it from I will reveal it was from the third heaven. This is proven by the book of Rev. where the Garden is back in the third heaven having the tree of life within. Now let us examine Genesis 2:8-9 in the light of Ezekiel 31:8-9 Where God calls Lucifer the cedar tree who was envied by the other chestnut and fir trees of the garden of Eden. Make note that he calls angels trees, you will need that information to understand God creating trees in front of Adam from the dust of the Garden of Eden, meaning this is when angels were created after mankind and not before, otherwise you prove to me with scripture when angels were created, I know all you have are vain words to dis-agree with this but you have no scripture to prove otherwise. So your response to me is wrong, when you said God said let us, he was speaking to the angels as he alone created and they watched like your little story of a parent buying ice cream which has no relevance at all to God as Elohim, Father, Son and Holy Ghost saying Let Us, the triune God make man as a triune being spirit, soul and body in the image of God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The bible is careful to state that the Lord Jesus raised himself from the dead, as Jesus said destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up, but then in Romans 8:11 the Apostle Paul taught it was the Holy Ghost that raised Christ from the dead, then in Galatians 1:1 the Apostle Paul taught it was the Father who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. This is Elohim who raised Jesus Christ from the dead and it is a great mystery according to Apostle Paul in Colossians 2:2 It is not I who lacks knowledge about a triune being but it is you who is denying biblical truth that my spirit is not my soul and my soul is not my body and until you can prove biblically and not with mere words from man that I am oneness, than the obvious is more true, your doctrine is false and is folly.