Alonzo T. Jones (1850 – 1923) on the Trinity
“Another, and the most notable of all the victims of Calvin’s theocracy, was Servetus, who had opposed the Catholic doctrine of the Trinity, and also infant baptism; and had published a book entitled “Christianity Restored,” in which he declared his sentiments. At the instance and by the aid of Calvin, he had been prosecuted by the papal Inquisition, and condemned to death for blasphemy and heresy, but he escaped from their prison in Dauphine, in France, and in making his way to Italy, passed through Geneva, and there remained a short time. He was just about to start for Zurich, when at the instigation of Calvin, he was seized, and out of the book before mentioned, was accused of blasphemy. The result, as everybody knows, was that he was burned to death. The followers of Servetus were banished from Geneva.” (A. T. Jones, 1891, The Two Republics, p. 590)
“Here is a distinctly religious qualification required. The applicant shall prove that he is a regularly ordained minister of some religious denomination and must be recommended by some authorized ecclesiastical body. It is true that he is not required directly by this law, to declare that he believes in the Trinity, or the communion of saints, or the resurrection of the dead. It is true he is not required to pass such a direct test as that. But he is required to be religious and to belong to a religious denomination. If he is not this, he cannot be appointed. This is nothing else than a religious test as a qualification for office under the United States, and is clearly a violation of that clause of the Constitution which declares that “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification of any office of public trust under the United States.”
“More than this: although, as stated above, no direct test as to a belief in the Trinity, etc., is required, the same thing is done indirectly. For in order to be an ordained minister in good standing in some religious denomination, he must necessarily pass a close and searching test upon many religious points. Therefore this requirement does indirectly what it does not do directly, and is just as certainly a violation of the Constitution, as though it were done directly.” (A. T. Jones, 1891, The Two Republics, p. 801)
“We receive the promise of the Spirit through faith; but what brings it? The Spirit of God; and when we have that, Christ dwells in the heart. Then it is the Holy Spirit that brings the personal presence of Jesus Christ, and in bringing His personal presence to us, He brings Himself. Then it is the mind of Christ, by which we may investigate, and reveal in, the deep things of God which He reaches down and brings forth to our understanding and sets them before us in their plainness.” (A.T. Jones, General Conference Bulletin, 1893 #11, p. 31.)
“He who was born in the form of God took the form of man. “In the flesh he was all the while as God, but he did not appear as God.” “He divested himself of the form of God, and in its stead took the form and fashion of man.” “The glories of the form of God, He for awhile relinquished.”” (A. T. Jones, General Conference Bulletin 1895, p. 448)
“He was born of the Holy Ghost. In other words, Jesus Christ was born again. He came from heaven, God’s first-born, to the earth, and was born again. But all in Christ’s work goes by opposites for us: He, the sinless One, was made to be sin in order that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He, the living One, the Prince and Author of life, died that we might live. He whose goings forth have been from the days of eternity, the first-born of God, was born again in order that we might be born again.” (Christian Perfection, par. 53, 54, A Sermon By A. T. Jones, Review & Herald, July 7 – August 1, 1899) (This is also found in Lessons on Faith, p. 154)
“11. “In accordance with this opinion” then, what has been done? “The Christian religion,” that is, “Christianity, general Christianity,” is legally recognized and declared to be the established religion of this nation, and that consequently “this is a Christian nation.” With this also, “in language more or less emphatic,” there is justified as the “meaning” of the Constitution of the United States, (1) the maintenance of the discipline of the Churches by the civil power; (2) the requirement of the religious oath; (3) the requirement of the religious test oath as a qualification for office; (4) public taxation for the support of religion and religious teachers; (5) the requirement of a belief in the Trinity and the inspiration of “the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments;” (6) the guilt of blasphemy upon everyone who speaks or acts in contempt of the established religion; and (7) laws for the observance of Sunday, with the general cessation of all “secular business.”
12. Now what more was ever required by the papacy, and all phases of the old order of things, than is thus brought within the meaning of the national Constitution by this decision? What more was ever required by the papacy itself than that “the Christian religion” should be the national religion; that the discipline of the Church should be maintained by the civil power; that the religious test oath should be applied to all; that the public should be taxed for the support of religion and religious worship; that there should be required a belief in the doctrine of the Trinity, and the inspiration of the “Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament;” that the guilt of “blasphemy” should be visited upon everyone who should speak or act “in contempt of the religion professed by almost the whole community;” and that everybody should be required by law to observe Sunday? Indeed, what more than this could be required or even desired by the most absolute religious despotism that could be imagined?” (A. T. Jones, 1901, Ecclesiastical Empire, pp. 837, 838)
“He is the One whom the Lord possessed “in the beginning of His way;” who was “set up from everlasting;” who “was by Him as one brought up with Him.” Proverbs 8:22, 23, 30. He is the one “whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of Eternity.” Micah 5:2, (with margin). He is the only begotten of the Father, and is therefore in very substance of the nature of God; in Him “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;” He, therefore, by divine right of “inheritance,” bears from the Father the name of “God.” John 3:16; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:4-8. Thus Christ Jesus was indeed by divine and eternal right one of God – “equal with God.” ”[A.T. Jones, The spirit of Papacy]
” “But, having finished His work in His prophetic office on earth, and having ascended to heaven at the right hand of the throne of God, He is now and there our “great High Priest” who “ever liveth to make intercession for us,” as it is written: “He shall be a priest upon His [Father’s] throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” Zech. 6:12, 13.” [A.T. Jones, The Consecrated Way]
“He was born again, and was made partaker of the human nature, that we might be born again, and so made partakers of the divine nature. He was born again, unto earth, unto sin, and unto man, that we might be born again unto heaven, unto righteousness, and unto God.” (Ibid)
“There was no dispute about the fact of there being a Trinity, it was about the nature of the Trinity. Both parties believed in precisely the same Trinity, but they differed 27 upon the precise relationship which the Son bears to the Father.” (A. T. Jones, The two republics, pages 332 – 333 ‘Establishment of the Catholic faith’)
“HE ALONE could reflect the Father in His fullness, because His goings forth have been from the days of eternity, and as it says in the eighth of Proverbs, “I was with him, as one brought up with him.” HE WAS ONE OF GOD, EQUAL WITH GOD; AND HIS NATURE IS THE NATURE OF GOD. Therefore one grand necessity that HE ALONE should come to the world and save man was BECAUSE THE FATHER WANTED TO MANIFEST HIMSELF FULLY to the sons of men, and NONE IN THE UNIVERSE could manifest the Father in His fullness EXCEPT THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, who is in the image of the Father. NO CREATURE COULD DO IT, because He is not great enough. ONLY HE whose goings forth have been from the days of eternity could do it; consequently, He came and God dwelt in Him. How much? “All the fullness of the Godhead bodily” is reflected in Him. And this is not only to men on the earth, but it is that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one—in Christ—all things which are in heaven and which are on earth. In Christ God is manifested to the angels and reflected to men in the world in a way in which they cannot see God otherwise.” {GCB/GCDB 1895, p. 378.5}
On Christ’s origin
“IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” “In the beginning,” that is, before creation, BEFORE TIME WAS; for in his prayer at the last supper he said: “O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold the glory which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:5, 24. HOW LONG BEFORE, NO FINITE MIND CAN MEASURE; for in the announcement by the prophet of the place of his birth, when he came into the world, it is said: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though 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.” Micah 5:2. The margin reads, Hebrew, from “the days of eternity.” THE MIND MUST BE ABLE TO GRASP ETERNITY BEFORE IT CAN MEASURE THE LENGTH OF DAYS OF THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD; BEFORE IT CAN KNOW HOW LONG THE WORD WAS BEFORE THE WORLD WAS. {SITI March 25, 1886, p. 186.1}
Note: The language used here and the connections he makes. So from this we have Jesus Christ the Son of God having an eternal nature, having self-existent which is connected to being the I AM, and existing before time in dateless ages before creation. A period of existence that we cannot comprehend with our finite minds.
A. T. Jones in an article titled “The Excellency of Christ” clearly pointed out that, “… Unto none of the angels did the Father say that, FOR NONE OF THE ANGELS WERE BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER; THEY WERE ALL CREATED BY CHRIST, for we have read that whether they be “thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers,” all were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made; WHILE THE SON HIMSELF WAS DIRECTLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER, AND SO IS CALLED HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, …” – A. T. Jones, Sign of the Times July 7, 1887.
Soon after, as seen in “Letter to the Hebrews. “Lesson 2 – HEBREWS 1:8-14. Notes” we read, “…The angels also are called sons of God (Job 38:7))… But all these are sons in a far different sense than what Christ is. THE ANGELS ARE SONS BY CREATION, …BUT CHRIST IS THE “ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD,” as found in the “Signs of the Times – September 30, 1889”.
1907 STATEMENTS Quoted from the Medical Missionary Volume 16, 1907:
“GOD IS A PERSON—a living, intelligent, person: a person who thinks, who loves, who pities, who speaks, who is good, who is true, who is faithful, who enters into covenant with men, and who keeps covenant and mercy with men forever. {March 27, 1907 ATJ, MEDM 98.3}
And CHRIST JESUS IS A PERSON. In this personal Christ the personal God is manifested to the world and made personally known to believing men. Christ, was a person before he came into the world; yea, he was a person before ever the world was. He was of the person of God before ever the world was; and as of the person of God, he “was the Word,” and he spoke the word that made the world and all the worlds. This same Person who was before the world, and who made the world and made man, came into the world and to man. He was a person in the world and with mankind. In this same person he left the world and ascended to heaven and to the personal God of heaven. In this same Person, and as this same Person glorified, he is at the right hand of the throne of the personal God in Heaven. And in this same Person, and as this same Person glorified, he is soon corning again in all the glory to glorify and take to himself and to the personal God of glory, all who are his by a personal faith upon their own personal choice. {March 27, 1907 ATJ, MEDM 98.4}
“And the HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON. This GREAT TRUTH is not recognized, indeed it is NOT believed, by more than a very few even of Christians. For everybody knows that almost invariably, with very, very few exceptions, the Holy Spirit is referred to and spoken of by Christians as “it.” {March 27, 1907 ATJ, MEDM 98.5}
THE ISSUE OF “IT” ABOUT THE HOLY GHOST :
“”But the word “it” never applies to a person. The word “it,” in the very genius of our language, refers and applies only to things, never to persons; to things of inanimate substance, as a stone, a horse, a tree; or to things of concept, or experience, as space, height, breadth, peace, joy, grief, an impression, an influence. But the Holy Spirit is none of these: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT AN INFLUENCE; nor an impression, nor peace, nor joy, nor any thing. The Holy Spirit gives peace, and gives joy, assuages in grief, makes an impression, exerts an influence; but the Holy Spirit is none of these things, nor any other thing. {March 27, 1907 ATJ, MEDM 98.6}
No, eternally no! The Holy Spirit is a Person, ETERNALLY A DIVINE PERSON. And he must be ALWAYS RECOGNIZED and spoken of as a Person, or he is not truly recognized or spoken of at all. {March 27, 1907 ATJ, MEDM 98.7}
See how plain and emphatic the Scriptures set forth this truth that the Holy Spirit is only a Person: and to aid the reader to see this truth, we will print in capital letters Italic, the words that designate the Holy Spirit:— {March 27, 1907 ATJ, MEDM 98.8}
John 14:16, 17: “I will pray the Father, and he shall give, you another comforter that HE may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; WHOM the world cannot receive because it (the world) seeth HIM not, neither knoweth HIM; but ye know HIM; fo
r HE dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” {March 27, 1907 ATJ, MEDM 98.9}
John 14:26: “The Comforter, 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.” {March 27, 1907 ATJ, MEDM 98.10}
John 15:26: “When the Comforter is come, WHOM I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which (WHO, Revised Version and others) proceedeth from the Father, HE shall testify of me.” {March 27, 1907 ATJ, MEDM 98.11}
John 6:7-15: “If I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; And when HE is come, HE will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.) . . . I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye can not bear them now. Howbeit, when HE, the Spirit of Truth is come, HE will guide you into all truth; for HE shall not speak for HIMSELF; but whatsoever HE shall hear, that shall HE speak; and HE will shew you things to come. HE shall glorify me; for HE shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore, said I, that HE shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” {March 27, 1907 ATJ, MEDM 98.12}
“Thus in the short space of a few lines the Lord Jesus speaks twenty-four times of the HOLY SPIRIT AS A PERSON; and speaks of him in no other term than that which signifies in Greek, literally, “that person there.” {March 27, 1907 ATJ, MEDM 98.13}