Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19
In unison with historic Christian orthodoxy, Article 2 of our Statement of Faith affirms the Triunity of God. We affirm the basic OT monotheistic confession (Ex. 20:1-5; Deut. 6:4), re-affirmed in the NT (James 2:19). There is but One True God and One Divine Essence (Isa. 44:6).
We further stand in unison with historic Christianity in affirming that the Bible clearly teaches that within the Nature of the One God there are three genuine, distinct, co-equal, co-eternal and collateral Divine Persons, as displayed at Jesus’ baptism (Matt. 3:16-17; also note John 1:1-2).
The Triune God who performed mighty redemptive deeds on our behalf is the God that Christians worship. This foundational Christian distinctive is underlined in Trine Immersion—the form of Baptism ordained by Christ (Matt. 28:19).
Nominal “Christian” sects that deny the Trinity are denying God (1 John 2:22-23), and are not to be received as brethren. Rather, they are non-Christians who stand outside of the pale of God’s forgiveness, requiring salvation.
The Trinity is an “irreducible” of the Faith (i.e., something that cannot be broken-down or removed). It is one of those core affirmations that represent the minimal content of Faith that a person MUST affirm if they are to be regarded as a genuine Christian. This affirmation indeed constitutes the predicate that undergirds the entire Gospel Message! Thus, we see that…
Arians (e.g., Jehovah’s Witnesses) who deny the Son’s equality and the Spirit’s Personality are NOT CHRISTIANS!
Modalists (Oneness Pentecostals) who deny the reality of distinct Divine Persons are NOT CHRISTIANS!
Liberals that regard Jesus as a “good man” (later “adopted” as God’s Son) are NOT CHRISTIANS!
Tri-theistic Mormons that deny the essential Unity of Persons, honoring multiple “gods,” are NOT CHRISTIANS!
Terry L. Reese