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An Apostolic Fellowship
The Name "Christadelphians"
A Distinctive Foundation
The Whole Bible
God, Creator and Father
The Vital Earth
Israel in God's Purpose
Promises to the Patriarchs
The Truth about Mankind
Man is Mortal
The Nature of Jesus
Son of God not God the Son
The Devil and Satan
The Good News
Baptism
The Kingdom of God
When Christ Comes...
The Life of Discipleship
Peace of Mind
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Son of God not God the Son The very
important point thus emerges that the death of Jesus was not just a sublime example of noble self-sacrifice (though
it was all of that). It was the vital atonement for sin, which makes it possible for us sinners to have hope. It
is a tragedy that in popular Christianity this understanding has been perverted by the doctrine of the Trinity,
which arose 300 years after the ascension of Jesus as a result of disputes within the Church. The creeds expressing
the Trinity were decisions of Catholic Church Councils in the 4th and 5th centuries. Their teaching is not found
in the Bible. The idea of a pre-existent "God the Son" in heaven changes the vital experience of Jesus
as the independent, responsible Son of man who was also Son of God, and so takes away the true significance of
his life and his death as the atonement for sin, achieved once for all.
Similarly the Holy Spirit is not presented in the Bible as the third "Person" of a Trinity. It is
the power by which God achieves His ends, both physical and spiritual. It is always under the control of the Father,
and later of the Son, and is never represented as acting independently of them, or as an object of worship.
It can thus be seen that a right understanding of human nature, and so of the nature of Jesus, lies at the very
centre of the purpose of God in him for the redemption of men and women from sin and death. It is the very core
of the Gospel. Only in the Bible do we find these vital truths about Jesus Christ.
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