THE TRINITY

What should we Know of the Trinity? (I)

John Gatura Africa

Editors’ note:

John Gatura is a minor building materials dealer from Africa who was born into a Catholic family. Recently, his trucks always had problems. In order to better transport building blocks and sand, he decided to replace them with the Chinese-made Dongfeng trucks. Just when he was going to pay for the trucks he had chosen, however, an old friend told him that the quality issues of Dongfeng trucks were troubling. So, he turned to the Internet for the relevant information and wanted to get a thorough knowledge before making the decision. When he typed “Dongfeng light truck” into the search bar and hit Enter, a website appeared among the search results: https://www.holyspiritspeaks.org/ He couldn’t wait to open it, and then the surprises started … Now John Gatura will tell you his marvelous experience.

I was very excited when I opened the website, because I saw the words “Eastern Lightning, the Lord’s return in China; Eastern Lightning, God’s work in the last days.” My heart fluttered at the news of God’s coming to China. I was very curious what all that was about. Thanks be to the Lord! I found that the website of the Church of Almighty God was rich in content: books, hymns, movies, choir music, music videos, and many others. As I liked reading, I clicked on some text and saw the following passage: “I was once known as Jehovah. I was also called the Messiah, and people once called Me Jesus the Savior because they loved and respected Me. But today I am not the Jehovah or Jesus that people knew in times past—I am the God who has returned in the last days, the God who shall bring the age to an end. I am the God Himself that rises up at the ends of the earth, replete with My entire disposition, and full of authority, honor and glory. People have never engaged with Me, have never known Me, and have always been ignorant of My disposition. From the creation of the world until today, not one person has seen Me. This is the God who appears to man during the last days but is hidden among man. He resides among man, true and real, like the burning sun and the flaming fire, filled with power and brimming with authority. There is not a single person or thing that shall not be judged by My words, and not a single person or thing that shall not be purified through the burning of fire. Eventually, all nations shall be blessed because of My words, and also smashed to pieces because of My words. In this way, all people during the last days shall see that I am the Savior returned, I am the Almighty God that conquers all of mankind, and I was once the sin offering for man, but in the last days I also become the flames of the sun that burn all things, as well as the Sun of righteousness that reveals all things. Such is My work of the last days” (“The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Reading these words, I was shocked, thinking: These words seem to say that God has appeared to man in the last days but is hidden among man. He was once known as Jehovah and called Jesus, and today His name is Almighty God. Almighty God is the Savior returned…. The Lord has returned? Who said these words? I was surprised and curious, and wanted to know more about the Lord’s second coming. I continued to read, and saw another passage: “God’s six-thousand-year management plan is coming to an end, and the gate of the kingdom has been opened to all those who seek the appearance of God. Dear brothers and sisters, what are you waiting for? What is it that you seek? Do you await the appearance of God? Are you searching for the footprints of God? How the appearance of God is yearned for! And how difficult it is to find God’s footprints! In an age such as this, in a world such as this, what must we do to witness the day of God’s appearance? What must we do to follow the footprints of God? Such questions are faced by all those who await the appearance of God. You have all considered them on more than one occasion—but with what outcome? Where does God appear? Where are the footprints of God? Have you gained the answers?” (“The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). These words expressed the voice of my heart. I had long yearned for the Lord’s return and awaited His appearance. In this moment, I was so excited that I could not stop praising God.

During the following three months, I kept reading the words of Almighty God, and indeed gained a lot. I had thought that the Lord Jesus had already completed the work of saving mankind, and that He would come to take His believers to Him. Only after reading Almighty God’s words did I realize that the Lord Jesus just redeemed man and forgave his sin and did not do the work of complete salvation of man, that man’s satanic nature still remains, and that man still lives in the condition of sinning and confessing and has not been fully gained by God. To thoroughly save and purify mankind, God becomes flesh again, and on the foundation of the redemption work of the Lord Jesus, He does the work of judgment starting from the house of God in the last days. Thank God for allowing me to understand these mysteries that I had never heard of. As such, I read The Word Appears in the Flesh with hunger and thirst for righteousness. Later, two minor projects were removed from my work, but my income every month remained the same. I thought it was arranged by God, because in this way I would have more time to read Almighty God’s words, and watch the gospel movies and videos on the website of the Church of Almighty God. Besides, I printed 100 copies of The Word Appears in the Flesh and sent them to some of my relatives, church members, and acquaintances. Some of them were unwilling to read the book after reading a part, while a relative in Nairobi led several people to continue reading the words of God, which made me very delighted.

One day, I saw this following passage of God’s word in the piece “Does the Trinity Exist?”: “Let Me tell you that, in truth, the Trinity does not exist anywhere in this universe. God has no Father and no Son, much less is there the concept of an instrument jointly used by the Father and the Son: the Holy Spirit. All of this is the greatest fallacy and simply does not exist in this world!” After reading these words, I recalled what our priests had taught us, “God is the Trinity. It is also written in Scripture that after Jesus was baptized, God’s Spirit descended upon Him like a dove, and a voice from the heavens said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:17). And before the Lord Jesus was crucified, He once prayed, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt’ (Matthew 26:39). These scriptures all mention the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, which proves that God is the Trinity.” However, I had been confused about the concept of the Trinity all along for I believed God is unique, and yet I couldn’t explain it clearly. Now this issue was mentioned in Almighty God’s words. I felt very fortunate to be able to know more about the idea of the Trinity, and was impatient to look further. “If any among you says that the Trinity indeed exists, then explain what exactly is this one God in three persons. What is the Holy Father? What is the Son? What is the Holy Spirit? Is Jehovah the Holy Father? Is Jesus the Son? Then what of the Holy Spirit? Is not the Father a Spirit? Is not the substance of the Son also a Spirit? Was not the work of Jesus the work of the Holy Spirit? Was not the work of Jehovah at the time carried out by a Spirit the same as Jesus’? How many Spirits can God have? According to your explanation, the three persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one; if so, there are three Spirits, but to have three Spirits means there are three Gods. This means that there is no one true God; how can this kind of God still have the inherent substance of God?” Yes, I only know the Trinity is a basic tenet of the people who believe in God, but I have no idea what exactly this concept means. I have asked a few priests and bishops about this question, and they all explained that the Trinity referred to the one God in three persons. In fact, no one can give a clear explanation about it. Then, when I saw the words “to have three Spirits means there are three Gods. This means that there is no one true God,” I felt they made sense, so I continued reading.

“If you accept that there is only one God, then how can He have a son and be a father? Are these not all simply your notions? There is only one God, only one person in this God, and only one Spirit of God, much as it is written down in the Bible that ‘There is only one Holy Spirit and only one God.’ Regardless of whether the Father and the Son of which you speak exist, there is only one God after all, and the substance of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit you believe in is the substance of the Holy Spirit. In other words, God is a Spirit, but He is able to become flesh and live among men, as well as to be above all things. His Spirit is all-inclusive and omnipresent. He can simultaneously be in the flesh and throughout the universe. Since all people say that God is the only one true God, then there is a single God, divisible at will by none! God is only one Spirit, and only one person; and that is the Spirit of God. If it is as you say, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, then are They not three Gods? The Holy Spirit is one matter, the Son another, and the Father yet another. They are distinct persons of different substances, so how then can They each be part of a single God? The Holy Spirit is a Spirit; this is easy for man to understand. If so, then the Father is even more so a Spirit. He has never descended onto earth and has never become flesh; He is Jehovah God in the heart of man, and He is certainly a Spirit as well. Then what is the relationship between Him and the Holy Spirit? Is it the relationship between Father and Son? Or is it the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of the Father? Is the substance of each Spirit the same? Or is the Holy Spirit an instrument of the Father? How can this be explained? And then what is the relationship between the Son and the Holy Spirit? Is it a relationship between two Spirits or the relationship between a man and a Spirit? These are all matters that can have no explanation! If They are all one Spirit, then there can be no talk of three persons, for They are possessed of a single Spirit. If They were distinct persons, then Their Spirits would vary in strength, and simply They could not be one single Spirit.” These words convey such messages: God is indivisible. The substance of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the substance of the Holy Spirit. God is a Spirit, who is omnipresent, and He can also become flesh and live on earth. I seemed to have had a little understanding, but I couldn’t get it straight. I really wanted to clarify this aspect of the truth for myself completely.