All Posts Tagged "Triune God"

The teaching of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee concerning the proper standing of a local church.

April 27, 2018 affirmation, Bible Answer Man, Christian Research Institute, church ground, CRI, deification, Elliot Miller, Hank Hanegraaff, litigation, Neil Duddy, Open Letter, partakers of the divine nature, SCP, Spiritual Counterfeits Project, The God-Men, Trinity, Triune God, video

What the Apostle Peter and Athanasius say about deification.

April 27, 2018 affirmation, Bible Answer Man, Christian Research Institute, church ground, CRI, deification, Elliot Miller, Hank Hanegraaff, litigation, Neil Duddy, Open Letter, partakers of the divine nature, SCP, Spiritual Counterfeits Project, The God-Men, Trinity, Triune God, video

Witness Lee’s teaching of deification is actual a biblical view.

April 27, 2018 affirmation, Bible Answer Man, Christian Research Institute, church ground, CRI, deification, Elliot Miller, Hank Hanegraaff, litigation, Neil Duddy, Open Letter, partakers of the divine nature, SCP, Spiritual Counterfeits Project, The God-Men, Trinity, Triune God, video

Witness Lee and the local churches “are bringing a correction to a problem within Western evangelicalism” concerning the Trinity.

April 27, 2018 affirmation, Bible Answer Man, Christian Research Institute, church ground, CRI, deification, Elliot Miller, Hank Hanegraaff, litigation, Neil Duddy, Open Letter, partakers of the divine nature, SCP, Spiritual Counterfeits Project, The God-Men, Trinity, Triune God, video

How the “open letter” signers got it wrong.

April 27, 2018 affirmation, Bible Answer Man, Christian Research Institute, church ground, CRI, deification, Elliot Miller, Hank Hanegraaff, litigation, Neil Duddy, Open Letter, partakers of the divine nature, SCP, Spiritual Counterfeits Project, The God-Men, Trinity, Triune God, video

An index to responses written by members of the local churches to criticisms of the churches and of the ministry of Witness Lee.

June 13, 2014 church ground, deification, denominations, division, index, lawsuits, litigation, mingling, Norman Geisler, oneness of the believers, Open Letter, response, Ron Rhodes, scholars, Trinity, Triune God, Walter Martin

The articles on this site responding to criticisms of the local churches and the ministry of Witness Lee are centered around three primary issues—the Trinity, God’s complete salvation, and the practical expression of the church. The first round of responses were published in the 1970s in response to the criticisms of inexperienced apologists who had a limited understanding of biblical truth and even less of the ministry of Witness Lee. After an interim in which many additional resources presenting Witness Lee’s teachings were published, beginning from 1999 Harvest House Publishers and others associated with that company raised the same issues again, essentially repeating those earlier accusations without regard to the responses or other writings already published. Those renewed criticisms called forth a second round of responses.

March 6, 2014 church ground, deification, denominations, division, History, lawsuits, litigation, mingling, Norman Geisler, oneness of the believers, Open Letter, response, Ron Rhodes, scholars, Trinity, Triune God, Walter Martin

Members of the local churches have written many responses to criticisms of the teaching of Witness Lee and of the local churches. These responses address vital issues of truth concerning God, Christ, His salvation, and the church, among many other subjects.

March 5, 2014 1 Corinthians 15:45, beliefs, Christ and the Spirit, church ground, Isaiah 9:6, mind, modalism, Person of Christ, response, salvation, the Son and the Father, Trinity, tritheism, Triune God

The Christian Research Institute published videos to accompany excerpts from radio broadcasts of Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man, discussing the findings of the Christian Research Institute’s six-year primary research projects into the local churches and the ministry of Witness Lee.

March 5, 2014 affirmation, Bible Answer Man, China, Christian Research Institute, CRI, deification, Elliot Miller, Gretchen Passantino, Hank Hanegraaff, Open Letter, pray-reading, prophesying, salvation, Trinity, Triune God

In 2007 an open letter appeared on the Internet calling on Living Stream Ministry and the local churches to “disavow and cease to publish” certain statements by Witness Lee. The two books in the series A Defense of the Gospel: Responses to an Open Letter from “Christian Scholars and Ministry Leaders” (1) and 2 answer the concerns raised in that 2007 open letter and show the defects in its handling of important biblical truths.

March 4, 2014 church ground, Defense of the Gospel, denominations, oneness of the believers, Open Letter, salvation, Triune God

A brief examination of some key verses concerning the Triune God (including Isaiah 9:6; 2 Corinthians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 15:45; and Matthew 28:19) and an appeal to accept the biblical revelation of the mystery of the Divine Trinity.

November 16, 2013 1 Corinthians 15:45, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Christ and the Spirit, Isaiah 9:6, the Son and the Father, Trinity, Triune God

A small booklet published in 1977 rebutting various false accusations by the Spiritual Counterfeits Project.

November 16, 2013 coexistence, cosmic Christ, cult accusation, Eastern mysticism, modalism, pantheism, Sabellianism, Trinity, Triune God

This 2011 book is one of a series of four addressing criticisms by Norman Geisler and Ron Rhodes. This book addresses various points of truth concerning the Divine Trinity, including:

  • the use of the word persons to describe the Three of the Godhead;
  • the coinherence and co-working of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit;
  • whether Isaiah 9:6 prophesies that the “Son given to us” is the “Eternal Father”; and
  • whether the Apostle Paul said the Lord Jesus Christ is the Spirit in 2 Corinthians 3:17.
June 30, 2011 2 Corinthians 3:17, Brothers Hear Our Defense, Christ and the Spirit, co-working, coinherence, identification, Isaiah 9:6, Norman Geisler, Open Letter, persons, Ron Rhodes, the Son and the Father, Trinity, Triune God

Brothers, Hear Our Defense is a series of four books correcting many errors in an article by Norman Geisler and Ron Rhodes. The subjects that these books deal with—the authority of the Bible, the incarnation of Christ, the nature of God, the state of Christendom measured against the Bible—are important matters deserving consideration by all serious Christians.

June 30, 2011 authority, Catholicism, Christianity, false witness, incarnation, Norman Geisler, Ron Rhodes, Trinity, Triune God

While it is common (and not wrong) to refer to the Three of the Divine Trinity as three “persons,” the term persons is problematic because it can lead to misunderstanding. This article examines whether Norman Geisler was justified in criticizing a statement of faith in the journal Affirmation & Critique because it did not explicitly use the word persons in its definition of the Trinity.

January 1, 2010 coexistence, coinherence, Norman Geisler, persons, Ron Rhodes, Trinity, tritheism, Triune God

This article refutes the false accusation of Norman Geisler and Ron Rhodes that the local churches teach patripassianism. It shows their error in asserting that affirming the involvement of the Father in the Son’s work is equivalent to of patripassianism and presents both the biblical record and a number of respected scholars that support the principle of the co-working of the Father and the Son (see also Scholars Who Affirm the Working Together of the Three of the Divine Trinity).

January 1, 2010 co-working, coinherence, impassibility, Norman Geisler, patripassianism, Ron Rhodes, Trinity, Triune God, two natures of Christ

Excerpts from respected scholars who affirm that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all work together and that the work of any of the Three involves the other Two.

January 1, 2010 co-working, coinherence, perichoresis, scholars, Trinity, Triune God

Second Corinthians 3:17 says plainly, “And the Lord is the Spirit.” Many respected scholars recognize that “the Lord” in this verse refers to our Lord Jesus Christ. However, Norman Geisler and Ron Rhodes argue otherwise. This article shows their error. (See also Scholars and Bible Teachers Who Affirm That the Lord is the Spirit).

January 1, 2010 1 Corinthians 15:45, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Christ and the Spirit, identification, Norman Geisler, Ron Rhodes, Trinity, Triune God

Elliot Miller, Editor-in-Chief of the Christian Research Journal, and Hank Hanegraaff, President of Christian Research Institute talk about deficiencies in the scholarship and biblical understanding of Christian leaders who signed a 2007 open letter criticizing the ministry of Witness Lee and the local churches.

November 30, 2009 affirmation, Bible Answer Man, Christian Research Institute, church ground, CRI, deification, Elliot Miller, Hank Hanegraaff, litigation, Neil Duddy, Open Letter, partakers of the divine nature, SCP, Spiritual Counterfeits Project, The God-Men, Trinity, Triune God, video

This 2009 book contains a statement prepared by the LSM editorial section addressing key issues in dialogues with a panel of Fuller Theological Seminary professors regarding the Trinity, the Person of Christ, God’s full salvation, and the genuine ground of oneness. It also contains a copy of the Fuller panel’s conclusions from their study.

February 28, 2009 affirmation, church ground, Confirmation of the Gospel, Fuller Theological Seminary, identification, lawsuits, litigation, Living Stream Ministry, LSM, oneness of the believers, salvation, Trinity, Triune God, two natures of Christ

The oneness of the Triune God can be seen in three categories of Scriptures, which this article calls interpenetration, identification, and interchangeable Scriptures.

March 4, 1978 2 Corinthians 3:17, Christ and the Spirit, coinherence, Isaiah 9:6, Orange County Register, the Son and the Father, Trinity, Triune God, Walter Martin

This article points out key faults in arguments concerning the Triune God presented in the pamphlet The Teachings of Witness Lee and The Local Church. It contrasts:

February 25, 1978 coinherence, Orange County Register, Sabellianism, Trinity, Triune God, Walter Martin

This article gives brief rebuttals to accusations in the pamphlet The Teachings of Witness Lee and The Local Church concerning:

February 11, 1978 Bible, denominations, division, oneness of the believers, Orange County Register, Trinity, Triune God, Walter Martin

A critique showing that Walter Martin’s explanation that the Three of the Divine Trinity are separate persons sharing an ill-defined common nature is tantamount to having three separate Gods.

January 7, 1978 Orange County Register, Sabellianism, Trinity, tritheism, Triune God, Walter Martin

A critique of Walter Martin’s insistence that Christ is not actually present but is only represented in the believers by the Holy Spirit.

December 31, 1977 identification, Isaiah 9:6, Orange County Register, the Son and the Father, Trinity, Triune God, Walter Martin

Witness Lee used the expression “four-in-one” to express the marvelous reality that the Triune God and the believers in Christ mutually indwell one another (John 14:20; 17:21, 23). However, some have misrepresented this “four-in-one” mutual indwelling to falsely claim that Witness Lee makes the church part of the Godhead.

November 5, 1977 four-in-one, oneness of the believers, Orange County Register, standards of scholarship, Trinity, Triune God, Walter Martin

A consideration of mingling as the most accurate term to describe the union of God and man based on 2 Corinthians 3:17, 2 Timothy 4:22, and 1 Corinthians 6:17.

November 5, 1977 2 Corinthians 3:17, Christ and the Spirit, identification, mingling, Orange County Register, Trinity, Triune God, Walter Martin

An overview of the scriptural meaning of the Triune God, including the basic facts, the value of being limited to biblical terminology, the principle of the twofoldness of divine truth applied to the oneness and threeness of God, an understanding of how the Bible reveals the Triune God, the relationship among the Three in the Godhead, and the meaning of the Triune God in the believers’ experience.

October 22, 1977 coinherence, Orange County Register, Trinity, Triune God, Twofoldness of Divine Truth, Walter Martin

In this statement Witness Lee responds to criticism of his teachings by explaining three reasons for different understandings of the Scriptures:

Witness Lee closes with an appeal for conduct becoming of Christians in disagreements of understandings of Scriptures.

October 15, 1977 Bible, oneness of the believers, Orange County Register, partakers of the divine nature, recovery, Trinity, Triune God, Walter Martin

Two articles that point out flaws in criticisms of Witness Lee’s teaching concerning the Divine Trinity.

October 8, 1977 1 Corinthians 15:45, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Christ and the Spirit, Isaiah 9:6, modalism, Orange County Register, Sabellianism, the Son and the Father, Trinity, Triune God, Walter Martin

In this 1977 booklet, Witness Lee directly rebuts the accusation that his teaching is modalistic. He examines key verses such as Isaiah 9:6, 1 Corinthians 15:45, and 2 Corinthians 3:17, showing that some who twist these verses to avoid their obvious meaning end up in the heresy of tritheism. Witness Lee concludes by showing that the biblical revelation of the Triune God is not for doctrinal formulations but for His people to experience of the reality of God.

January 1, 1977 1 Corinthians 15:45, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Christ and the Spirit, heresies, Isaiah 9:6, modalism, recovery, Sabellianism, the Son and the Father, Trinity, tritheism, Triune God

A booklet by Ron Kangas published in 1976 by Living Stream Ministry that:

November 16, 1976 coexistence, heresies, identification, modalism, Sabellianism, Trinity, tritheism, Triune God

A 1976 booklet by Ron Kangas refuting criticisms that those in the local churches are modalists. The booklet:

October 6, 1976 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Isaiah 9:6, modalism, Sabellianism, subjective experience of Christ, the Son and the Father, Trinity, Triune God

A booklet by Witness Lee published in 1976 presenting the basics of his biblical teaching concerning the Triune God:

The booklet concludes with a section on the Triune God being a mystery beyond explanation and an appeal to accept the full biblical revelation of the Divine Trinity.

January 1, 1976 1 Corinthians 15:45, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Christ and the Spirit, coexistence, Isaiah 9:6, the Son and the Father, Trinity, Triune God