Parables of the Trinity

Jesus’ Greatest Failure

Let’s take a minute and think about the greatest Teacher the world has ever known. It is a great miracle that Jesus was able to teach profound spiritual truths without using the big words theologians love! We stand in awe at the depth and beauty and power of His words. Sadly, Jesus’ parables are also woefully incomplete! Somehow or another He failed to address the single most important issue Christians are expected to understand. We must face facts and admit that Jesus neglected to teach us anything about the Trinity! Jesus’ greatest failure is that He taught no parables about the Trinity. None at all. Not even one.

Jesus Did Not Give Us the Parables We Need!

It is deeply disappointing to realize that the Son of God failed to give us any teachings or parables to help us understand the trinity! You know it’s true! Jesus claimed to have told us “all things” but can we find even one parable He taught about the Triune God? Where in Jesus’ teachings is there any attempt at all to explain the Holy Trinity? Where is it we ask? The answer is distressing… it is not there. Jesus did not give us the parables we need!

What an incredible oversight! We all know there is nothing more important in our theology than the doctrine of Three Persons in One God! How can it be that Jesus failed to give us any teaching or parables about the Trinity? Nothing at all! Zip. Zero. Nada. It looks like the greatest Teacher the world has ever known really dropped the ball on this one brethren, and that is why we had to come up with our own parables.

We Are Not Passing Judgment on Jesus!

Now don’t think for a minute that we are passing judgment on Jesus! We all know He did a great job with so many other things. Nevertheless, His failure to teach about the Trinity is a glaring omission and one we cannot overlook! Thanks be to God for the Church Fathers! They were the theologians who bravely stepped into the gaping holes Jesus left in His teachings and filled them to the brim with intellectual sophistication and scholarly language. The Church Fathers wrote their incomparable creeds about the trinity out of necessity! Like the crew of the star ship Enterprise on Star Trek “They bravely went where no man had gone before.”

Do “The Secret Things” Really Belong to God?

The Good Book says, “The secret things belong to God but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever.” (Deuteronomy 29:29) Are we, as some like to say, just pretending to understand the secret and unrevealed mysteries of God’s very Being? Perhaps we actually do “see through a glass darkly” (I Corinthians 13:12). Does it make any sense that we who can barely understand our own wives now claim to have penetrated the mystery of God’s very Being in eternity past! It almost makes me wonder if the church fathers waded out into water that is way over our heads.

Why Didn’t Jesus Explain the Trinity?

You may be wondering why Jesus never gave us a clear explanation of the Trinity. Everyone knows it is the single most important thing we believe! Those who deny it have been banished, tortured and killed by those who are smart enough to go along with the dogma of our triune creeds. Many have wondered why Jesus didn’t write a good trinitarian creed Himself and just get it done with. Since the trinity is believed to be so incredibly eternally important why didn’t Jesus explain it to us?

Jesus Was Depending on Us!

Yes we have devised some beautiful parables of our own but why didn’t Jesus teach these Himself? Was He so busy with His earthly ministry that it just slipped His mind? To this day no one really knows why He left us so tragically in the dark and adrift. Is it possible He knew we would come up with some pretty good parables of our own if we just had enough time? Perhaps Jesus was depending on us! We now believe He was probably hoping that we would create some parables for Him from the richness of our own imaginations! We should be flattered that Jesus never taught on the most important doctrine of the church. He was counting on us to do it!

What Magnificent Parables We Have Written!

And what magnificent parables we have written! Our parables are easy to understand and they do seem to convey something quite important. Some of our illustrations are so good I bet Jesus almost wishes He had taught them Himself. Just because the parables we have invented about the trinity have no basis in scripture is no reason to mock them. No indeed! That would be rude.

An Imaginary Meeting With Jesus

Close your eyes and try to envision this imaginary meeting with Jesus. His disciples were sitting at His feet in the quiet and stillness of the evening. The labors of the day were finished and the crowds had been sent away. Multitudes had been fed, miracles had been wrought and a great many people had been healed. Perhaps Jesus had walked on the water that very day! His disciples believed in Him and loved Him, but they still had questions. And then… one of the disciples meekly raised a hand and said, “Lord, could you kind of explain to us about You and God? I don’t mean to sound stupid but how does it all fit together?”

God is Like a Triangle!

With great love and patience, Jesus looked upon His disciples and when He knew they were ready to hear Him He said, “You must open your eyes and see that God is like a triangle!” His disciples were dumbfounded! They had never seen anything about God being a triangle in the Hebrew scriptures! Jesus’ explanation left them totally baffled. They were more bewildered than ever. The obvious question no one dared to ask was “What in the world does a triangle have to do with God?” It sure didn’t sound Biblical to their ears. Sensing their confusion, Jesus went on. “Look men, a triangle has three points connected by three sides and a nice big pyramid shape in the middle! Don’t you get it? It has three points but is just one triangle and that is me and God!” His disciples looked dazed but things were about to get worse.

Is God Like an Egg?

Man-made parables only confuse what God has shared.

Jesus sensed their failure to understand so He raised His voice and said, “God is like an egg I tell you! That’s how it is with me and God! Every egg has a shell and yolk and some egg white but it’s just one egg. All you have to do is think of eggs and the Mystery of God will make perfect sense to you.” Well, that really jumbled things up in the minds of His disciples! They started grumbling, “What does that have to do with God? First triangles and now eggs? These ideas don’t make anything clear, they don’t sound at all like scripture and they sure don’t glorify God. None of this makes sense to us Lord!”

Is God Like Water, Ice, and Steam?

Then all the disciples with one voice began to say unto Him, “Lord, we don’t understand what you are trying to say!” It had already been a long day but Jesus decided to try one more time. He wanted to elevate their thinking to heavenly things so He patiently said, “Let’s see if you can get this one! God is like a cup of water and an ice cube and steam that rises from a boiling pot! They are all different but they are all the same!” That didn’t seem to help much either so Jesus decided right then and there to never teach any more parables about the trinity ever again. This explains why no parables or teachings about the Trinity can be found anywhere in the Bible to this very day.

The Apostles Were Very Primitive Christians

Jesus finished His teachings by saying, “How is it that you are so blind? In 300 years or so some really clever philosophers will create doctrines you’ve never dreamed of! These are the parables men will create in those days! You are just too primitive to get it.” The disciples’ heads were spinning! They had never heard anything like this before which was little wonder. All they knew was sacred scripture. From our vantage point today we can clearly see that the Apostles were very primitive Christians indeed. (Believers didn’t even begin to get sophisticated or modern until the Councils of Nicea and Chalcedon.)

Unbiblical Ideas Call for Unbiblical Parables!

One thing we have come to understand in our time is that the teachings of scripture do not result in the parables we need. Our unbiblical ideas call for unbiblical parables! The dogma we believe and illustrations we use to explain it may not be Biblical but they are very convincing! Most Christians obediently believe in our creeds and recite them faithfully whenever they meet! If you ask them about the mystery of God they will solemnly repeat our parables about triangles and eggs and glasses of water with a straight face!

The Possibilities Are Endless!

Perhaps someday someone somewhere will expand the limits of our understanding even further and create new parables that are even more stunning than what we have now. There may come a time when Christians everywhere will embrace the parable of an egg frozen in a block of ice shaped like a triangle! The possibilities are endless! We can only imagine…

A Song of Parables

All God’s points are numbered three, We love triangularity!

How blessed is our theology!

Bless God of shell and yolk and white, Bless every holy egg in sight!

So blessed is our theology!

Bless our frozen liquid One, who turns to steam when we are done!

Oh bless our lovely Trinity, and all our fine theology!

PS: Oh my goodness! Did we actually say these things out loud and in print? You bet we did and think it’s long overdue! Now you can say them too.

Non GMO Theology

Get Healthy With Non GMO Theology!

These days people are paying a lot of attention to healthy living. Let’s all get some exercise, eat a balanced diet, avoid stress and get enough sleep! We think these are sensible steps for anyone who wants to stay healthy and avoid preventable suffering. Avoiding GMOs (genetically modified foods) and harmful chemical additives has likewise become an important part of our national conversation about health. These concerns aren’t just for a few health nuts and fitness fanatics! These are mainstream issues now that most people are aware of. We think it’s also about time for people to start avoiding man made theological additives too and get healthy with Non GMO theology.

Are There Any Unhealthy Additives in Your Theology?

You may be thinking, “Hey! My theology is officially approved by lots of knowledgeable people!” We’re thinking, “Hey! Just to make sure, let’s take a look at the ingredients in your theology in the same way we would look at the ingredients in the food you buy. Are there any unhealthy additives in your theology?” Unless you actually look at the ingredients in your food (and your beliefs about God), you won’t know if they contain any toxic additives or ingredients that could be bad for you! If your spiritual nutrition is contaminated with man-made additives (ideas) that no one even really understands, that’s a big red flag!

What Are the Ingredients in Your Theology?

Most nutritionists agree that the best foods are simple, unprocessed and free of unnatural substances and human meddling. Many modern believers are beginning to argue that these very same qualities are essential features of the things we choose to believe. How about your spiritual nutrition? What are the ingredients in your theology?

The Ingredients of a Truly Healthy Theology

We think the only safe teachings to include in your beliefs about God are those that are directly and explicitly taught in scripture! The Word of God is pure, holy and guaranteed to do you good. Jesus said, “The words that I speak are Spirit and they are life.” We can’t say as much for the words of the ancient philosopher/theologians we call the Church Fathers. Christ’s teachings are the ingredients of a truly healthy theology that will bring you life, understanding and peace. You can trust His words. There are some theological ingredients though that scripture calls toxic. They are dangerous you should avoid them!

Common Ingredients Found in Toxic Theology

“Beware lest men spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men.” (Colossians 2:8) One translation renders this as the “high sounding nonsense that comes from human thinking.” What in the world is this talking about? Are there some ingredients we should beware of in our theology? The Apostle Paul certainly thought so! Is your theology contaminated with complex philosophical thoughts and unhealthy jargon? Do your beliefs depend on notions like God’s “substance or essence”? Do you really need ideas like homoousious, hypostases, divine persons, triune, and eternal begetting to know God? These are just some of the thoughts and phrases that make up the trinity. None of them are found anywhere in the Bible but they are the most common ingredients found in toxic theology. They are also the main ingredients of the trinity.

Healthy Non GMO Theology

Here are the main ingredients of healthy Non GMO theology: There is just one God. He is the God of Abraham and the God of Moses. His name is YHWH. Jesus Christ (who is the Anointed One, our Savior and the Messiah) is God’s only begotten human son. He called YHWH His Father. Jesus never claimed to be God Himself but He did claim to be the Christ. The rulers of Israel hated Him and crucified Him to preserve their own prestige and importance. He died at their hands but rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God the Father. Best of all He is coming back! When He does every eye will see Him, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Adoni) to the glory of God the Father (Adonai). Now this, dear friends, is truly healthy Non GMO theology. All the ingredients are biblical and they are all good for you.

PS: Thanks for visiting! Now… take a friend by the hand and bring them with you next time. Be sure to tell your network about wonderfultheology by mentioning this site on facebook or whatever social media platform you use. God bless you and God speed.

Click to go back to the Home Page

The Golden Calf

Debauchery, Corruption and Greed

Some of us have noticed there is a disturbing difference between what Jesus taught and what we see far too often in our pulpits and churches. The steady stream of moral failures and church scandals in the news makes us cringe with embarrassment. For starters, the Catholic Church shocked the world with its pedophile priests, cover ups and banking scandals. The Protestant world’s millionaire televangelists with their private jets and obscenely expensive mansions and notorious sex scandals are another disgrace. The debauchery, corruption and greed these things reveal are ugly stains on the Body of Christ and make Christianity a laughing stock to unbelievers. Something is desperately wrong! How in the world did this happen? Clearly, there is a breakdown in the faith at some level.

Things Were Totally Out of Control

Perhaps the Old Testament can give us some insight. An example from Exodus 32 might help. It tells how Moses was leading Israel to the promised land when God called him to Mount Sinai to receive the Law. What an experience that must have been! Moses was on the mountain with God for 40 days and when He came down he found things were totally out of control. Aaron had made a golden calf for Israel to worship and God’s people were partying like a bunch of pagans. There was wild dancing, drinking and a lot of immoral behavior going on. It wasn’t exactly what you would expect from God’s chosen people! In other words, it sounds a lot like today.

Israel Failed to Understand

Aaron had created a golden calf with his own hands and presented this pagan idol to the people as if it was a true image of God. Israel gladly embraced their new golden calf and as they worshipped it their conduct really went downhill! God, on the other hand, was not at all happy about the situation. Israel failed to understand that Aaron’s golden calf did not really represent God and their misunderstanding came at a terrible cost. Many people lost their lives due to their idolatry. Judgment was not what they were expecting and it certainly was not what God wanted for them.

Another Man-Made Object of Worship

These days we don’t worship anything as obvious as a golden calf but there is another man-made object of worship in our midst. Israel’s vision of God was distorted by a golden calf and the destiny of many suffered as a result. Christianity’s vision of God is distorted by a man-made theological illusion we call the trinity. Could it be that the destiny of many will once again suffer as a result of a false vision? Is it possible that a failure of leadership will cause many of God’s chosen people to lose their inheritance?

Without Vision the People Perish

Proverbs 29:18 states “Without vision the people perish.” Some translations render this as, “Where there is no vision people are unrestrained” or “the people cast off restraint” or “the people run wild” or “the people are out of control.” It’s no wonder that God laments, “My people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) We have a hunch that a clear vision of God may be the antidote to much of what ails the church today.

A Biblical Vision of God and Christ

Here at Wonderful Theology our mission is to share a clear and Biblical vision of God. He is the God of Israel and we call Him our Father (His name is YHWH). His only begotten human Son is our Savior Jesus Christ. This is a true and biblical vision of God and Christ that truly brings light and understanding. Many are convinced this vision of God leads to righteousness too. We contend that the Trinity is a philosophical golden calf that distorts our vision of God and darkens our understanding. Nothing good can come of it.

Click for the Home Page

In the Volume of the Book

“Lo, I come to do thy will O God. In the volume of the book it is written of me.” (Hebrews 10:4-13, Psalms 40:6-8) These profound and powerful words speak of the unique life and person of Jesus Christ. They were spoken by the man who was the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world. In these prophetic words Christ speaks of Himself and His mission. He knew who He was and He knew what He would do.

Immortality Awaits

Of Himself Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life… no man comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:1-6) “I am the door, by me if any man enter in he shall be saved. (John 10:9) Jesus boldly claimed to be the only way and the only door that leads to God and to eternal life. The Bible declares that immortality awaits those who believe in and heed the words of Jesus Christ! This is the offer of the gospel and the promise of God.

The Message of Scripture

The message of scripture is simple and understandable. “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5) Hang on to this truth and never let it go. Believe it. Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten and unique Son of God, the promised Messiah, the Anointed One. Of Himself He said, “I am a man who has told you the truth.” (John 8:40) He was crucified and then rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus was not an Archangel or the Father incarnate or a hypothetical second ‘person’ in the trinity. He was one of us and he was truly a man. He said so Himself.

This is Life Eternal

God’s Anointed One (the Christ) was a man! The man called Jesus claimed to be God’s Christ. This is who He claimed to be and this is exactly what God revealed to the Apostle Peter. Jesus most definitely never claimed to be God Himself. God’s only begotten Son was a man. Don’t be offended by this. Jesus said, “This is life eternal that they may know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3) This critically important knowledge about God and Christ is somehow a part of the promise of eternal life. Now… take a deep breath and relax. This is much more important than any dogma you may have grown up with. If Jesus was content to declare Himself to be a man we should be content to believe Him.

PS: Soon we will wrap up Wonderful Theology’s content. Our whole focus has been on Jesus Christ and on presenting the Mystery of God and Christ in clear and Biblical terms. We hope these things have been helpful to you. The next destination on our theological journey is a planned website called Practical Theology. Our intent is to delve into some of the everyday questions and “nuts and bolts” issues that are important to most believers. We hope you’ll come visit us there and bring a few friends along with you. It may take awhile but we hope to have Practical Theology online by the fall of 2025. God Bless!

Click for the Home Page

The Greatest Thing You’ll Ever Learn

Of all the things you could ever learn in life none is greater than this. There is but one God and we call Him the Father. His name is YHWH and His only begotten Son Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. This simple but earth shaking truth is the greatest thing you’ll ever learn. Here’s what the Bible says about God and Christ.

In the Beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… by Himself. The angels saw it happen and shouted for joy when they saw the universe unfolding right before their eyes. (Job 38) God made it clear that creation was His work alone and said, “There is no God beside me.” (Isaiah 45:5)

God Formed Adam From Dust

After the earth was perfected God formed Adam from its dust and breathed life into him. God saw it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone so He made Eve to be his companion. These two lived together in holy innocence until the day they rebelled against God. Foolish Eve was deceived by Satan and foolish Adam was willing to follow her lead. When they willfully disobeyed one of God’s clear commands they were banished from the Garden of Eden and we’ve all suffered ever since. They were driven out of the garden and a flaming sword was placed at the entrance to block them from the Tree of Life. They were destined for immortality but their willful disobedience only brought death.

The Messiah Who Was to Come

As the years went on Adam’s descendants filled the earth with violence. Eventually God was so sorry He had made man that He decided to wipe out humanity with a flood. Only Noah’s family survived. In course of time God spoke to one of Noah’s descendants named Abraham. Because of Abraham’s faith God pledged to give him a beautiful land and promised that one of Abraham’s descendants would be the world’s Savior. The Messiah who was to come would set the world right again and somehow God would bring us to our high destiny of eternal life.

The Rebellion That Started in Eden

Abraham’s descendants eventually became the nation of Israel… and like all the people who ever lived before them they messed things up too. The Israelites knew all about God’s promises to Abraham and were quite proud of their unique spiritual inheritance. They carefully observed and enforced their religious traditions but their hearts were far from God. They became hardened by pride and although they thought they were holy and right with God they weren’t. The rebellion that started in Eden had taken root and was alive and well in Israel.

And Then… The Promised Messiah Was Born

And then… the Promised Messiah was born! God had made a promise to Abraham and never forgot it. At long last the promised Messiah stepped on the scene! By His sacrifice He would put down Eden’s ancient rebellion and lead His people to the Tree of Life. His battle against the rebellion would be bloody and would end with His own death on a cross, but the curse of death would be lifted and immortality would beckon!

We are just getting started and there is much more to come. Please come back soon and take a look… and while you’re at it invite a friend. Thanks and God Bless!

Click for the Home Page