One God in Three Persons, A Response to Dr. Norman Gulley in Adventist World, Part 2

Dr. Allen Davis and Pastor Daniel Mesa giving a partial response--due to lack of time--to Dr. Norman Gulley's article, "One God in Three Persons" found online at the Adventist World website.

Notes:

Article by Norman Gulley

with a response in red by Daniel Mesa

Published on: 03-01-2018

The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of salvation.”1 This took place in heaven prior to the agreement that Christ would function as the Savior.2

Notice the context:

“It is the glory of the gospel that it is founded upon the principle of restoring in the fallen race the divine image by a constant manifestation of benevolence. This work began in the heavenly courts. There God decided to give human beings unmistakable evidence of the love with which He regarded them. He “so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. CH 222.1
The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption. In order fully to carry out this plan, it was decided that Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, should give Himself an offering for sin. What line can measure the depth of this love? God would make it impossible for man to say that He could have done more. With Christ He gave all the resources of heaven, that nothing might be wanting in the plan for man’s uplifting. Here is love—the contemplation of which should fill the soul with inexpressible gratitude! Oh, what love, what matchless love! The contemplation of this love will cleanse the soul from all selfishness. It will lead the disciple to deny self, take up the cross, and follow the Redeemer.” CH 222.2

The Godhead is never mentioned as more-than-one-being-together-to-make-up-the-Godhead in the writings of the Bible or those of EGW. Notice:

“The Father can not be described by the things of earth. The Father IS all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight. The Son IS all the fullness of the Godhead manifested. The word of God declares Him to be “the express image of His person.” “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Here is shown the personality of the Father.” BTS March 1, 1906, par. 1

Independent of one another, the Father and/or the Son are all the fullness of the Godhead. They do not need each other to make up a Godhead, therefore, the word Godhead should be understood as “divinity” (the actual translation of each of the three uses in the Bible: Strong’s G2304, G2305, G2320).

Ellen White continues her thought:

“The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit IN all the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons of the heavenly trio. In the name of these three powers,—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will cooperate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.” BTS March 1, 1906, par. 2

Matthew 28:20 makes it clear that Christ is the one who would be with His disciples until the end of the age. Mark 16:19-20 makes it clear that Christ was the one working with His disciples after His ascension. Paul understood as well that Christ in His disciples is the “hope of glory.” He also mentioned being crucified with Christ, nevertheless, it was Christ that lived in him.

Galatians 4:6 says, “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”

Concerning Christ, the coming Messiah, Scripture says His “goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). The preincarnate Christ is the “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father” (Isa. 9:6). “Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had with the Father from all eternity,” writes Ellen White.3 No wonder Christ knew He was “equal with God” (Phil. 2:6). Christ “was equal with God, infinite and omnipotent,” notes Ellen White, and “Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity,” “a distinct person.”4

Micah 5:2 is used in conjunction with Proverbs 8:22-30 by EGW. Notice one of them:

“The prophet Micah writes of Him, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, tho thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of Thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” ST August 29, 1900, par. 13
Through Solomon Christ declared: “The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth…. When He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment; when He appointed the foundations of the earth; then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” ST August 29, 1900, par. 14

You’ll notice there are only two times the Hebrew phrase “goings forth” is used. Once in Micah 5:2, and “They brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day” 2 Kings 10:27. The word H4163 in Hebrew Strong’s means, “family descent; also a sewer (marg.; compare 6675):—draught house; going forth.” When comparing H6675, we come away with “excrement” translated “dung.”

I’d rather think that Eve’s ‘going forth’ from Adam’s side is a better illustration of Christ’s being “brought forth” from the Father, as stated in Proverbs 8. Nevertheless, that’s what is being said in Strong’s Concordance.

There is also the idea of the stone being cut out of the mountain without hands. This could easily fit along side the idea of Eve being brought forth from the side of Adam, and the Lord’s “goings forth” from the Father. “The Eternal Father, the unchangeable one, gave his only begotten Son, tore from his bosom Him who was made in the express image of his person.” RH July 9, 1895, par. 13

Christ is called the “Mighty God,” but never the “Almighty God.” In Revelation 1:4, John called the Father “Almighty” whereas in verse 8 John referred to the Son as the “Alpha and Omega…” which was stated by the Father, “the Almighty.” Also, because God created all things through His Son, His Son is the father to us all, but He is not His Father’s Father.

Christ glory with the Father “from all eternity” is vert different compared to when she uses the phrases “through eternity” or “throughout eternity.” Christ was from eternity, we will praise Him throughout eternity. We should check for ourselves that through and throughout eternity are always future tenses in the writings of EGW.

Christ was equal with God, as stated in Philippians 2:6, because He was in “the form of God,” as He later came in “the form of a servant” (vs 7).

How was Christ equal with God?

“God is the Father of Christ; Christ is the Son of God. To Christ has been given an exalted position. He has been made equal with the Father. All the counsels of God are opened to His Son.” 8T 268.3

Yes, Christ was with God and was God in the highest sense—just as Eve was with Adam and was adam (human, See Genesis 5:2) in the highest sense. Just as Eve was brought forth from Adam and was completely human, so the Son was brought forth from the Father as is completely divine.

“From eternity there was a complete unity between the Father and the Son. They were two, yet little short of being identical; two in individuality, yet one in spirit, and heart, and character.” YI December 16, 1897, par. 5

“In speaking of His pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God.”5 Fellowship means a relationship with each other. Jesus declared to Martha at the death of Lazarus: “I am the resurrection and the life. . . . Whoever . . . believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25). Ellen White comments: “In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. ‘He that hath the Son hath life.’ 1 John 5:12, KJV. The divinity of Christ is the believer’s assurance of eternal life.”6

“In speaking of His pre-existence” is prefaced in the original article by the above quote from ST August 29, 1900, par. 13-14. It’s impossible to understand this statement without first understanding what the author meant by Christ’s being brought forth. Also, the paragraph in question is not referring to the eternal existence of Christ, but rather is taking the mind—not back through eternity past, but rather through dateless ages—and His “close fellowship with the eternal God.” There is a marked differentiation made between the phrases “dateless ages” and the “eternal.”

Yes, IN Christ was life… That’s what the Bible says, “IN Him was life.” The Father was IN Christ, “the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10). “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Consider the previous verse of 1 John 5:11 before extrapolating verse 12, “this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” If we have the life that God the Father has given, then we too have life “original, unborrowed, and underived.” This is proven by this statement, written one year prior to the publication of The Desire of Ages.

““In him was life; and the life was the light of men”. It is not physical life that is here specified, but immortality, the life which is exclusively the property of God. The Word, who was with God, and who was God, had this life. Physical life is something which each individual receives. It is not eternal or immortal; for God, the lifegiver, takes it again. Man has no control over his life. But the life of Christ was unborrowed. No one can take this life from him. “I lay it down of myself”, he said. In him was life, original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man. He can possess it only through Christ. He cannot earn it; it is given him as a free gift if he will believe in Christ as His personal Saviour. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”. This is the open fountain of life for the world.” ST April 8, 1897, par. 2

When on earth, Christ was confronted by Pharisees about His age. He said to them: “I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). Commenting on this claim, Ellen White writes: “Silence fell on the vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the eternal presence, had been claimed as His own by the Galilean Rabbi. He had announced Himself to be the self-existent One, He who had been promised to Israel, ‘whose goings forth have been of old, from the days of eternity.’ ”7 “Self-existent” means having original life, underived from anyone else.

Yes, Christ is self-existent. How? “As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself” (John 5:26). Consider 8T 268.3 above.

Notice the words in this quote:

““God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son,”—not a son by creation, as were the angels, nor a son by adoption, as is the forgiven sinner, but a Son begotten in the express image of the Father’s person, and in all the brightness of his majesty and glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection. In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” ST May 30, 1895, par. 3

What about the Holy Spirit? “We need to realize that the Holy Spirit . . . is as much a person as God is a person.”8 The Holy Spirit is “the Third Person of the Godhead,”9 and “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, [are] the three holy dignitaries of heaven.”10 “The eternal heavenly dignitaries—God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit.”11

This “as much a person as God is a person” phrase was written by a stenographer after a speech given to students by Ellen White at Avondale College in Australia. These were not words written by EGW. But, this is what she did say elsewhere:

“How few realize that Jesus, unseen, is walking by their side!”—PH154 32.1, 14MR 125.3

“Walking with Christ means to believe that, though unseen, Christ is walking with you.”—21MR 136.5

This is what the Bible is referring to when it speaks of Christ:

“The mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”—Colossians 1:26-27

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”— Galatians 2:20

The Biblical answer to the “third person” quotes is not difficult, but takes a lot of time to study. There are 88 times in the New Testament (NT) where the phrase “son of man” is used. Of those times in the NT, Christ is the main one to use that phrase. 84 of those uses are in the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Nearly every time the phrase is used, Christ is speaking of Himself as the “son of man” in the grammatical third person speech.

Knowing that Christ was speaking of Himself reflecting a ‘third person’ scenario while on earth, it makes sense that His omnipresent Spirit would still speak of Himself in a ‘third person’ scenario while He is in Heaven, yet still here by His Spirit. Notice Matthew 28:20,

“Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” And Mark 16:19-20, “So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

Christ Speaks With Authority

Christ was soon to leave His disciples. To comfort them, He said: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him [personal pronoun] nor knows him. You know him [personal pronoun], for he [personal pronoun] dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:16-18, ESV).12 Two chapters later Christ said, “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him [personal pronoun] to you” (John 16:7, ESV). Then Christ names some of the Holy Spirit’s responsibilities (verses 8-11).

“That Christ should manifest Himself to them, and yet be invisible to the world, was a mystery to the disciples. They could not understand the words of Christ in their spiritual sense. They were thinking of the outward, visible manifestation. They could not take in the fact that they could have the presence of Christ with them, and yet He be unseen by the world. They did not understand the meaning of a spiritual manifestation.” SW September 13, 1898, par. 2

The word “Comforter” only appears in the Greek five times (in purple and underlined in the following verses). Even in the context of the first use, Christ promised not to leave them “comfortless,” which would therefore leave them “comforted.” Four uses are in the book of John, the last in 1 John 2:1. Notice the last time it is used, and that John gives the Comforter a name:

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Christ continued: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he [personal pronoun] will guide you into all the truth” (verses 12, 13, ESV). In these two chapters Christ speaks of two Persons—Christ and the Spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit is Christ’s “representative” and “successor” on earth.13

If, as the trinitarian mindset demands, the Holy Spirit had always been with man (as a co-equal and co-eternal omnipresent Spirit), why would Christ promise the Spirit as a “successor?” Wouldn’t that contradict the entire idea of the Spirit as an omnipresent being who has always been ‘in the godhead?’

This is how EGW used the verses, please notice the subject:

“Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally; therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them, go to His father, and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall (although unseen by you), [This phrase was added by Ellen White.] teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” [John 14:26]. “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will come not unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you” [John 16:7].” 14MR 23.3

Holy Spirit’s Further Functions

It takes a Divine Person to give human birth to Christ (Matt. 1:20), [Either Mary is the “Divine Person,” or Christ now has two fathers! Or, as Luke 1:35 says, the Holy Ghost, the “power of the Highest,” is the Father’s Spirit] to author the Old Testament (Acts 28:25-27) and the New Testament (1 Peter 1:20, 21; cf. 1 Thess. 2:13). [I believe the author meant to write 2 Peter 1:20, 21. But, 1 Peter 1:10-11 explains that the Spirit of Christ was in the prophets, saying that the “prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”] It takes a Divine Person to be an administrator of the church in the book of Acts: giving guidance (Acts 8:29; 10:19, 20; 11:12, 28; 13:2-4; 16:6, 7; 20:23, 28); filling believers (Acts 4:8, 31; 8:17; 9:17; 10:44, 45; 11:15, 24; 13:9, 52; 19:6); [Christ, as “the head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23), is able to lead His people through His Spirit] giving languages (Acts 2:4), teaching (John 14:26) [Christ is “the greatest Teacher the world has ever known.” AA 17.2], bringing to remembrance Christ’s words (John 14:26) [Done through the ministration of angels, “The Bible should never be studied without prayer. The Holy Spirit alone can cause us to feel the importance of those things easy to be understood, or prevent us from wresting truths difficult of comprehension. It is the office of heavenly angels to prepare the heart so to comprehend God’s word that we shall be charmed with its beauty, admonished by its warnings, or animated and strengthened by its promises. We should make the psalmist’s petition our own: “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.” Psalm 119:18. Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God’s promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons. But angels are round about those who are willing to be taught in divine things; and in the time of great necessity they will bring to their remembrance the very truths which are needed. Thus “when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” Isaiah 59:19. GC 599.3], comforting (Acts 9:31) [Sent as a Comforter in human and spirit form in Galatians, “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.], being a witness (Acts 5:32).

He intercedes (Rom. 8:26) [Consider the context, notice verse 34, “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Also, “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5]; can be grieved (Eph. 4:30) [“When the human agents deal with these souls in a hard spirit they grieve the heart of Christ, and put Him to open shame, for they misrepresent in their own character the character of Christ.” FE 284.1]; sanctifies (1 Peter 1:2; cf. John 17:17) [Christ is “the word,” whereby He prayed we would be sanctified by in John 17:17.]; produces fruit in Christians—love, with all of its qualities (Gal. 5:22, 23) [“When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not co-operate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.” DA 324.1—Question: where is the Holy Spirit in all of this?]; gifts church members for different ministries in the church (1 Cor. 12:4-11) [with the use of the term “Spirit of God” defining the “Holy Ghost” as mentioned in verse 3.]; and brings the risen Christ to live in His followers (John 17:26; Gal. 2:20, 4:19; Eph. 3:17; Phil. 2:13; Col. 1:27) [YES! Christ in you, the hope of glory. Why would we have a third being—having never become human, having never been able to be tempted—come to live within us?]. At the close of the Jerusalem Council the leaders recognized the Holy Spirit as a person, saying, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things” (Acts 15:28) [the term “Spirit of Christ” would work more consistently with the Scripture, rather than making the “Holy Spirit” a third god. “He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent.” 14MR 23.3].

The Holy Spirit says: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God [cf. John 3:16], and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen” (2 Cor. 13:14) [Speaking of Christ, EGW says in Steps to Christ 52.2, “They must have His grace, the Spirit of Christ, to help their infirmities, or they cannot resist evil.” Also, we are told in Galatians 4:6, “because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Notice, it doesn’t say ‘for His Son,’ but rather, “of His Son.”]. “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: The Father, the Word [John calls Christ the Word (John 1:1, 14)], and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one” (1 John 5:7) [Have you noticed the SDA Bible commentary on this verse? “The passage as given in the KJV is in no Greek manuscript earlier than the 15th and 16th centuries. The disputed words found their way into the KJV by way of the Greek text of Erasmus (see Vol. V, p. 141). It is said that Erasmus offered to include the disputed words in his Greek Testament if he were shown even one Greek MS that contained them. A library in Dublin produced such a MS (known as 34), and Erasmus included the passage in his text. It is now believed that the later editions of the Vulgate acquired the passage by the mistake of a scribe who included an exegetical marginal comment in the Bible text that he was copying. The disputed words have been widely used in support of the doctrine of the Trinity, but, in view of such overwhelming evidence against their authenticity, their support is valueless and should not be used. In spite of their appearance in “the Vulgate A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture” freely admits regarding these words: “It is now generally held that this passage, called the Comma Johanneum, is a gloss that crept into the text of the Old Latin and Vulgate at an early date, but found its way into the Greek text only in the 15th and 16th centuries” (Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1951, p. 1186).” — The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 675]. In Scripture each person in the Trinity is called God [Please first find the word trinity.]. The Father calls Christ God (Heb. 1:3, 8) [Yes, God called Him God as His Son, but not “My God” as Christ had said to the Father seven times in the New Testament: Matthew 27:46, John 20:17, Revelation 3:12.], Christ calls the Father God (John 8:42). Peter remonstrated with Ananias: “You have lied to the Holy Spirit” (Acts 5:3, NIV),14 and in so doing, “you have not lied just to human beings but to God” (verse 4, NIV) [In verse 9, Peter said, “How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?”]. So inspired writings define God as three persons in the Godhead, a communion of love, with life original, self-existent, unborrowed, and underived. [Because of what the Father has offered us in 1 John 5:11, Life, we too can have the same original, unborrowed, underived life! This is confirmed by EGW as well. Consider the previous comments above.] 

1 Ellen G. White, Counsels on Health (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1923), p. 222.

2 Compare here more in Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1890), p. 36.

3 Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1911), pp. 38, 39.

4 Ellen G. White, Evangelism (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1946), p. 615; Ellen G. White, in Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Apr. 5, 1906.

5 Ellen G. White, in Signs of the Times, Aug. 29, 1900.

6 Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1898), p. 530.

7 Ibid., pp. 469, 470. (Italics supplied.)

8 Ellen G. White manuscript 66, 1899, in Evangelism, p. 616.

9 E. G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 671.

10 See Ellen White’s understanding of Matthew 28:19 in Ellen G. White manuscript 92, 1901. In The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1956), vol. 5, p. 1110.

11 Ellen G. White manuscript 145, 1901, in Evangelism, p. 616.

12 Bible texts credited to ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

13 Ellen G. White, Lift Him Up (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1988), p. 179.

14 Bible texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Norman Gulley, Ph.D., professor emeritus, Southern Adventist University, has served as pastor, missionary, and teacher and lives with his wife in Collegedale, Tennessee, United States.

Notes: https://phm.org/one-god-in-three-persons-a-response-to-norman-gulley/