Pre 1915 Trinitarian Statements/Articles
Disclaimer: These statements or articles are provided as historical references only and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of AS IT READS.
The list below represents various Adventist publications dated pre 1915 (the year in which Ellen White passed away) wherein, a portion of the publication contains either the term “trinity” or “triune” or other “trinitarian” terms in a rather positive sense and or other expressions (claimed by trinitarians) to be conveying “trinitarian” concepts.
There are plethora of evidence from early Adventist publications which indicate that the modalistic or creedal/consubstantial variety of trinitarianism was almost unanimously rejected by the Adventist pioneers and were generally written about it in a negative sense. Therefore, the term “trinity”, when it is conveyed in any positive manner should be questioned or qualified to determine what kind of trinity the statement is proposing and furthermore, whether or not the usage of the term “trinity” is either similar or dissimilar than what is general understood pertaining to the modern version of SDA’s trinitarianism. Thus it would be a great remiss to just assume that these so called “trinitarian” statements or notations are harmonious compare to the modern SDA’s doctrine of trinity and it would be useful to compare other available statements by the same author, written contemporaneous to the one in question to get a better context.
Again, please bear in mind that just because these statements contain “trinitarian” expressions does not necessarily mean that it conveys the same doctrine (Denial of Christ’s pre-incarnate begotten Sonship, and the denial of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of the Father and the Son—the Holy Spirit is an entirely separate Being completely external to the Father and the Son…) as what the modern Seventh-day Adventists currently hold and teach. (Click HERE to learn more) Moreover, it’s worth noting that while the Adventist church during this time almost unanimously held to the non-trinitarian view, we find these expression within in the church’s official publications without any notable reproof coming from within the church.
Additionally, the term “trinity” has range of meaning and the articles below provides some thoughts on how the term “trinity” can take on a different meaning given the context or the period in which it was used.
When Trinity Doesn’t Mean Trinity by Brendan Valiant
Trinity, a Case of Homonym by Paul Chung
James White, George Butler, Uriah Smith and Ellen White on the Doxology – By Jason Smith
Click the links to see the highlighted portions from the photo copies of the original articles in a PDF format.
Brackets and bold emphasis are added within the quoted statements below.
“In the former dispensations God was known by such appellations as, The Lord God, The Almighty God, The I Am, and The Jehovah God. But in the ordinance of baptism (according to the gospel commission), in which ordinance we take upon us the name of the God we worship, he [singular] is known as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Now if this be the truth, as it most certainly is, then it follows that to believe and confess this truth is to answer a good conscience toward God.”
1890-10-15 Chas D. Boyd, Bible Echo and Signs of the Times (pdf pg 11) “The Trinity”
1897-05-06-H.P. Wright, Present Truth-V13-18 (pdf pg 8)
“The words of praise that we sing or speak are but the expression of the heart’s love and adoration of God,—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.“
1898-07-19-B.W.Marsh, Review and Herald-V75-29 (pdf pg 2)
“The warfare between the flesh and the Spirit will have ceased, because every fiber of humanity will reveal the express image of God himself; and God is one. For an eternal proof, we have the statement, “There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, theWord, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” 1 John 5 : 7…
“…In Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was found the one who would assume humanity, the one through whom might be revealed the personality of the Spirit of God. In him. only do we behold the one “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the• dead.” Rom. 1 : 4. In him the Spirit of holiness, or the Holy Spirit, was revealed as a distinct personality. This personality was ‘revealed in every action of his life.”
1898-11-01-Frank W. Howe, Christian Educator-V03-03 (pdf pg 14)
“The ” sacred number,” three, evidently stands for a necessary mode of man’s thinking,…possibly in some sense corresponding with the threefold manifestation of the Creator [singular] in whose image he was made.”
1899-2-14 Advent Review and Sabbath Herald (pdf pg 4)
“THE mistake we are making is to teach and preach that the reception of the Holy Ghost is a blessing, an influence, an enduement, a power, a something. It is not any or all of these; it is no thing. He is a person, and as such must be received, and not as a blessing of any name nor kind. Receive ye him, not a blessing. No, no! not anything so low, but the third person in the Godhead,—divinity received by humanity. He is not an act nor an experience, but an abiding,— “another Comforter,”—a new personage that comes into your life, and comes to stay and control. Don’t make such a mistake; thousands have made it, and have lost all. Blessings go; the Blesser stays. Receive him, and no one else, nor anything less.”
1899-9-19 Adventist Review and Sabbath Herald (pdf pg. 4)
“HEALING is in Him; is in his atonement. “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses,” He heals, and comforts in his healing; for it is the work of the Comforter. The Comforter has come. Jesus, in his fleshly body, has gone, arisen, ascended, entered into the heavens, is preparing a place for us; but the Holy Ghost, the third person of the Trinity, is here with comfort, and healing, and blessing. Receive him, and he is power! — power over the world, the flesh, the devil; power over disease and temper and appetite; power, such power as came into timid, shrinking, denying, cursing Peter, making him a marvel of unparalleled boldness, simplicity, and self-denying sweetness, with wonderful signs of healing following. The truth of healing is attended with the unction of the Holy Spirit. He is honored, and honors the testimony and teachings of this truth, and he is making it one of the irrepressible issues of this most glorious age.— Selected.”
It might be helpful to compare other article during the same period:
1900-01-24-G.F.Rider, Signs of the Times-V26-04 (pdf pg 7)
“Day on which the great Creator [singular],
When creation’s work was done,
Rested from His finished labor,
Father, Son, and Spirit, one.“
“Let us not grow overbold concerning the Spirit alone; but remember that he is ever with the Father and the Son, and that whatever he speaks to us he speaks as from them; for it is written, “Whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak.” Let him make you know, beloved, how surpassingly beautiful are the blended personalities of our triune God, manifested by the personal presence of the Holy Ghost. To know him is to know the Father and the Son, and these can not be truly known and really honored until we receive and know the Spirit; for no man can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost.”
1900-06-28 L. Gaussen Present Truth (pdf pg 11)
“THE Spirit of God which moved upon the face of the waters was the Holy Spirit, whose existence is thus made known to us in the very beginning of the Bible. The Holy Spirit united with the Father and the Son to create the world, as He still unites with them to save each soul,—three glorious persons in one only God over all, blessed for ever.”
1901-01-01 H-F Phelps, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald (pdf pg 2)
“But now let the mind enlarge to take in some of the eternity of the past. There must have been a beginning of this revelation, a beginning of the work of creation. And this must have been the very beginning of the revelation of that same eternal purpose. Preceding this beginning; there must have been, according to Rom. 16: 25, R. V., ” times eternal,” when there were no worlds;. no created being, not even an angel ; in fact, there were only three beings—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit ; these three persons in the Godhead.”
1901-01-29-Anna C. White, Review and Herald-V78-05 (pdf pg 2)
“Yet if, looking into our faces, watching our daily lives, examining the motives of our every-day actions, they see reflected therein the glory of the Son, the radiance of the Father, and the loving, tender influence of the Comforter, will not they be convinced of the wisdom and love of the Triune God?“
1902-02-01-G.B.Starr, Union Conference Record-V05-02 (pdf pg 4)
“Righteousness is the fruit of the Spirit of God, imparted to man by that divine agent of the Trinity.“
1902-06-05-Present Truth-V18-23
“Sing holy, holy, holy,
To the great God Triune.”
1903 06-09 L. Gaussen Advent Review and Sabbath Herald (pdf pg 11)
“The Holy Spirit united with the Father and the Son to create the world, as he still unites with them to save each soul,— three glorious persons in one only God over all, blessed forever.”
1905-03-23-Andrew McClintock, Present Truth-V21-12 (pdf pg 7)
“May we all in glory praise
The Triune through endless days.“
1905-08-02 JK Humphrey, Atlantic Union Gleaner-V04-30 (pdf pg 9)
“A bath tub was procured, and after a straight talk on the necessity of baptism and salvation through it, I buried Sister Jennie Bagley in the name of the triune Deity.” Atlantic Union Gleaner, p.9, 8/2/1905 JK Humphrey
1906-01-01-Oriental Watchman-v09-01 (pdf pg 1)
“FROM GLORY UNTO GLORY ! ” What mighty blessings crown
The lives for which our Lord hath laid His own so freely down!
Omnipotence to keep us, Omniscience to guide,
Jehovah’s Triune Presence within us to abide!“
1906-02-01 Haskell, Bible Training School (pdf pg 34)
“THE doctrine of the trinity is true when rightly understood. They are one in nature, one in purpose, and so perfect is that union, that Christ said, ” I and My Father are one.” “All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine and show it unto you.” “At that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.” “That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us : that the world may believe that Thou bast sent Me.” ” I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one ; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” No human reasoning can explain this oneness. Certain it is, here is a union that is as much holier, higher, and perfect, as the heavens are higher than the earth. And it is possible for man to attain unto it through Christ.”
1906-06-06-H. Camden Lacey, Missionary Worker-V10-12 (pdf pg 3)
“In our Doctrinal Bible class we studied some of the leading points of faith composing the system of belief of the Seventh-Day Adventists : e.g., the Power and Inspiration of the Word, the Nature and Character of the Triune God, Creation, the Fall, the Plan of Salvation, the First Advent of Christ, the Second Advent, the Sabbath Question in all its phases, the Tithe, the Ordinance of Humility, and the Earthly Sanctuary and its Services.” H. Camden Lacey
1907-10 Haskell, Bible Training School (pdf pg 16)
“Cleansed by the Washing of Water, Eph. 5 :26 Into the Name of the Trinity, Matt. 28 :19″
1907-05-14-Youth Instructor-V55-20 (pdf pg 7) “Threefold manifestation of God[singular]“
1907-11-01 Haskell Bible Training School (pdf pg 15)
“Twice John was forbidden to worship this angel. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are one, and receive worship. Each one represents all the other members of the Trinity. 1 John 6 :7 ; John 10 :30; John 5 : 23 ; Psa. 139: 7-13 ;Luke 1 : 36. Gabriel was only an angel bearing a message from the great Trinity of heaven, and could not receive worship.”
1909-07-19-R.Hare, Union Conference Record-V13-29 (pdf pg 2)
“From the confusing idea of “one God in three Gods,” and “three Gods in one God “—the unexplainable dictum of theology—the enemy gladly leads to what appears to be a more rational, though no less erroneous idea—that there is no trinity, and that Christ is merely a created being…
“But God’s great plan is clear and logical. There is a trinity, and in it there are three personalities. We have the Father described in Dan. 7 : 9, 10, a personality surely—the “Ancient of Days” enthroned. In Rev. 1 : 13- 18, we have the Son described. He is also a personality. The appearance and form of the Holy Spirit is not described. He is the agency whereby God revealed His Word to man, and of Him Christ declares, ” He shall not speak of Himself.” John 16 : 13. Hence the man who speaks much of himself has not a very close acquaintance with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is spoken of through the Scriptures as a personality. These divine persons are closely associated in the work of God. Christ speaks of Himself and the Father as “one.” But this union is not one in which individuality is lost. Christ would have His people one even as He and the Father are one. But we know that the union of God’s people is to be one of mind not of personality (John 17 : 21-23). This is set forth in the admonition to “be of one mind.” 1 Peter 3 : 8.
“With these scriptures agree the words of the Spirit ill these latter days :— “There are three living persons in 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 to be baptized, and these powers will cooperate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.”—Mrs. E. G. White, in Bible Training School, February, 1906.
“This is indeed a divine trio, but the Christ of that Trinity was not a created being such as His angels—He was the “only begotten” of the Father, and He came to earth as the one with the Father from the ” days of eternity.” Micah 5 : 2 (margin). His goings forth were of old, and He came full of ” grace and truth ” to reveal God to man. John 1 : 14, 17.”
1909-10-19-Youth Instructor-V57-42 (pdf pg 11)
“Society Studies in Bible Doctrines
Lesson I – The Trinity
SYNOPSIS : There is one God, a personal spiritual being, the great I AM, the self-existent One, the Creator of all things. He is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal, and infinite in love, mercy, and justice.
Associated with God in creation and redemption is his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, one with the Father. The third person in the holy trinity constituting the Godhead, is the Holy Spirit, a medium through which the Father and the Son perform the operations of creation and redemption.”
1910-12-01 Bible Training School (pdf pg 15)
“Is THE Holy Spirit a person ?” The Holy Spirit is represented in the Bible as one of the Trinity. Of the Holy Spirit, Christ said that it ” proceedeth from the Father “; and, “He shall testify of Me.” John 15 : 26. In many instances in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is spoken of by the use of the personal pronoun “He” and ” His.” From this we would conclude that the Holy Spirit has a personality. While the Holy Spirit has a personality, and is represented as an intelligence, yet it is spoken of in a way that we cannot comprehend its personality. The definite form of its personality is not revealed in the Bible. In Acts 2 : 3, 4, it is represented as ” cloven tongues ” ; and in verses 17 and 18, it is represented as an influence. In the Bible it is spoken of as divested of all personality; in other places it is represented as a person; in another place, as ” cloven tongues of fire ” ; and still again, it is represented in a “bodily shape like a dove.” Luke 3 : 22. It is not confined to a personality, as a man, as cloven tongues, as a dove, or as being only an influence. It is evident that the Holy Spirit is one of the Trinity, and fully represents God, and Christ, and the Trinity; and appears in ‘any form or shape, or without form or shape, as best answers the purpose of God.”
1910-12-15-M. E. Steward, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald (pdf pg 8)
“THERE are three Beings in the Godhead: God, the Father; Jesus Christ, the Word; and the Holy Spirit. “These three are one.” I John 5: 7.”
1912-12-19-R.W.French, Review and Herald-V89-51 (pdf pg 5)
“Trinity… The Scripture declares our God to be one God (Dent. 6: 4; Mal. 2:10), ‘ and again it emphatically says, ” There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” i John 5: 7… From the foregoing statements, we must arrive at one of two conclusions,— either that there is one being having different names by which to distinguish him in his different functions, or that the Bible enunciation, ” There are three that bear record in heaven,” is true.
1913-08-01-R.B.Thurber, Oriental Watch-V16-08 (pdf pg 11)
“The universal Sovereign cast man in the image of the God-head, the Trinity, in creating him with three great faculties, physical, intellectual, and spiritual, or manual, mental, and moral.”
1913-10-9-FM Wilcox Review and Herald (pdf pg 23 additional commentary provided)
“For the benefit of those who may desire to know more particularly the cardinal features of the faith held by this denomination, we shall state that Seventh-day Adventists believe,- 1. In the divine Trinity. This Trinity consists of the eternal Father, a personal, spiritual being, omnipotent, omniscient, infinite in power, wisdom, and love; of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the eternal Father, through whom all things were created, and through whom the salvation of the redeemed hosts will be accomplished; the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, the one regenerating agency in the work of redemption.”
1913-11-27-C.P. Bollman, Present Truth-V29-48 (pdf pg 5)
“God is worshipped because He is Creator ; and God means the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; for all are mentioned as having part in creation.”
1914-02-01 Haskell Bible Training School (pdf pgs 23, 31)
“There are many inspired benedictions pronounced upon God’s people in the Bible ; but none like this one. It comes from the Trinity, separately”
1914-05-19-Herbert J. Edmed, Southern African Missionary-V13-21 (pdf pg 3)
“1. Who is the Holy Spirit ?
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the God-head.
(a) The attributes of Deity are ascribed to the Holy Spirit in the Word of God :—” Eternal,” Heb. 9 : 1 ; ” Omnipresent,” Psalms 139 : 7-10 ; ” Omnipotent,” Luke 1: 35 ; ” Omniscient,” 1 Cor. 2 : 10, 11 ; ” Creator,” Job. 33 : 4 ; etc.
(b) In this study, we must recognise that the Holy Spirit is not merely an influence ; both the Old and the New Testaments refer to Him as a real personality. God wants us to see in the Holy Spirit more than a saving, friendly influence ; He is our personal Friend,—a personal God.”
1914-11-17 MC Wilcox-Signs of the Times (additional commentary provided)
“Deut. 6:4 is simply an expression of the unity of the Godhead: “Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.” Many times, when mention is made of God, it simply implies the Godhead. Of course there is absolute unity in that, just as truly as though there were but one Person; and therefore it is spoken of as one. “