The Truth Regarding "three living persons of the heavenly
trio"
SpTB07 - ‘Testimonies for the Church Containing Messages of Warning and’
Sanitarium, Cal., November, 1905.
I have not been able to sleep during the past night. Letters have come to
me with statements made by men who claimed to have asked Dr. Kellogg if he
believes the testimonies that Sister White bears. He declares that he does,
but he does not. He sent a sensible letter to me while I was at Melrose, Mass.,
saying, "I have surrendered," But he has not spoken or acted as a
man who has surrendered. He has felt bitterness of soul against the Lord's
appointed agencies who have occupied the position of president of the General
Conference. He has hated them. Has he surrendered that gall of bitterness?
The Lord will
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not accept anything that he affirms which is false. {SpTB07 60.3}
The whole of the matter is not revealed. I have been waiting to see the least evidence of surrender. The word of the Lord to me is, "He is only gathering his forces for another display to magnify himself. The ministers of God are being drawn in and deceived by his science. He is doing all in his power to create a division between the medical work and the ministry of the word. He has his messenger going forth to test the pulse of God's people, and please him by disparaging the strength of the ministerial force." {SpTB07 61.1}
This large work and its sure results are plainly presented to me. I am so sorry that sensible men do not discern the trail of the serpent. I call it thus; for thus the Lord pronounces it. Wherein are those who are designated as departing from the faith and giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, departing from the faith which they have held sacred for the past fifty years? I leave that for the ones to answer who sustain those who develop such acuteness in their plans for spoiling and hindering the work of God. {SpTB07 61.2}
If---had come into line, the work of God would have been years in advance of what it now is. He would have connected himself with the Lord, and Christ would have worked through him. {SpTB07 61.3}
The Lord would now have a straight-forward, decided testimony borne regarding every point of present truth. We are a denominated people, and we are not to yield up our faith to the science of human sophistry. {SpTB07 61.4}
November, 1905.--I slept well during the past night, from seven o'clock until
half-past two. It is the Sabbath of the Lord, and I shall speak in the church
at St. Helena this morning. My health is very good. I attend to my writings
continuously, that everything may be in readiness if I should be taken away
at a moment's notice. I do not regard
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that time with any fear or distrust. I am heeding to the best of my knowledge
the message that Christ came from heaven to give John, as recorded in the first,
second, and third chapters of Revelation. {SpTB07 61.5}
"But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye already have hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." {SpTB07 62.1}
I am instructed to say, The sentiments of those who are searching for advanced scientific ideas are not to be trusted. Such representations as the following are made: "The Father is as the light invisible; the Son is as the light embodied; the Spirit is the light shed abroad." "The Father is like the dew, invisible vapor; the Son is like the dew gathered in beauteous form; the Spirit is like the dew fallen to the seat of life." Another representation: "The Father is like the invisible vapor; the Son is like the leaden cloud; the Spirit is rain fallen and working in refreshing power." {SpTB07 62.2}
All these spiritualistic representations are simply nothingness. They are
imperfect, untrue. They weaken and diminish the Majesty which no earthly likeness
can be compared to. God can not be compared with the things His hands have
made. These are mere earthly things, suffering under the curse of God because
of the sins of man. The Father can not be described by the things of earth.
The Father is all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal
sight.
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{SpTB07 62.3}
The Son is all the fulness 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. {SpTB07 63.1}
There will have to be a second conversion in the hearts of some of our leading medical fraternity, and a cutting away from the men who are trying to guide the medical ship into the harbor, else they themselves will never reach the haven of rest. Christ calls, Come out from among them, and be ye separate. {SpTB07 63.3}
I write this because any moment my life may be ended. Unless there is a breaking
away from the influence that Satan has prepared, and a reviving of the testimonies
that God has given, souls will perish in their delusion. They will accept fallacy
after fallacy, and will thus keep up a disunion that will always exist until
those who have been deceived take their stand on the right platform. All this
higher education that is being planned will be extinguished; for it is spurious.
The more simple the education of our workers, the less connection they have
with the men whom God is not leading, the more will be accomplished. Work will
be done in the simplicity of true godliness, and the old, old times will be
back
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when, under the Holy Spirit's guidance, thousands were converted in a day.
When the truth in its simplicity is lived in every place, then God will work
through His angels as He worked on the day of Pentecost, and hearts will be
changed so decidedly that there will be a manifestation of the influence of
genuine truth, as is represented in the descent of the Holy Spirit. {SpTB07
63.4}
The Holy Spirit never has, and never will in the future, divorce the medical missionary work from the gospel ministry. They can not be divorced. Bound up with Jesus Christ, the ministry of the word and the healing of the sick are one. {SpTB07 64.1}
The fifty-eight chapter of Isaiah contains instruction for today. "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sin." God does not accept Dr. Kellogg as His laborer, unless he will now break with Satan. The work would not have been hindered as it has been for the past several years if Dr. Kellogg were a converted man. "Come," I call, "come ye out and be separate from him and his associates whom he has leavened." I am now giving the message God has given me, to give to all who claim to believe the truth: "Come out from among them, and be ye separate," else their sin in justifying wrongs and framing deceits will continue to be the ruin of souls. We can not afford to be on the wrong side. We can not afford to cover the truth with scientific problems. We urge that decided changes be made, and no more stumbling-blocks be placed before the feet of the people of God. Let every soul put on the gospel shoes. Let every soul pray and work, placing their feet upon the foundation Christ laid in giving His life for the life of the world. {SpTB07 64.2}
An in-depth analysis of the "heavenly trio' & "three living Persons" Quote...What was Ellen White Saying?
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.” Evangelism:
615
Here is the entire statement (this statement can best be understood in light of her other statements, for it is most misunderstood today):
“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}
The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He is invisible to us mortals. The only way we can know God (His Godhead) is if it is manifested. Now, remember that Christ is “the only begotten Son of the living God” and therefore He has by right of inheritance (being brought forth from the Father’s own person) all the attributes of His Father. Christ inherited the Godhead (divinity) of His Father and is therefore “all the fullness of the Godhead manifested” for He is “God’s thought made audible”. This is by virtue of His divine heritage and inheritance.
Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him [Christ] should all fulness dwell
(See also 2 Corinthians 4:6)All the fullness that dwells in the Son of God is His birthright and inheritance. This divine fullness dwells in Christ because it pleased the Father. Christ possessed, by divine birth, the glory of His Father.
“In Christ is gathered all the glory of the Father. In Him is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of His person. The glory of the attributes of God are expressed in His character.” {7BC 907.3}
“The love of God, manifested toward fallen man in the gift of his beloved Son, amazed the holy angels. "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The Son was the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person. He possessed divine excellence and greatness. He was equal with God. It pleased the Father that in him all fullness should dwell.” {2SP 38}
“"God is love." His matchless love for fallen man, expressed in the gift of his beloved Son, amazed the holy angels. Christ was the heir of all things, by whom also the worlds were made. He was the brightness of the Father's glory, and the "express image of his person." He upheld "all things by the word of his power." In himself he possessed divine excellence and greatness; for it pleased the Father that in him all fullness should dwell.” {BEcho, January 1, 1887 par. 2}
Having established this fact, now let us read on and see what Mrs. White continues to say:
“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. … He who has continual faith in the Father and the Son has the Spirit also. The Holy Spirit is his comforter, and he never departs from the truth. {BTS, March 1, 1906}1905
The Comforter is sent to us “in all the fullness of the Godhead”. This fullness we have seen to be the Godhead and divinity (the divine mind) of the Father which His Son inherited and manifests to us by sending us His spirit which He inherited from the Father. Since the Spirit is the very life and soul of Christ, then when He sends it to us we partake of its fullness.
“The Father gave His Spirit without measure to His Son, and we also may partake of its fullness.” {GC 477}
There is a flow of glory/life from the Father to the Son coming to us through the channel of the Spirit. Two divine beings send us their life and glory by the channel of the Sprit (not by a third divine being), thus she says we are to have faith in those two divine beings, not three “He who has continual faith in the Father and the Son has the Spirit also”. As by faith we trust the Father and the Son they (not someone else) will abide with us by their very own personal presence, which is their holy spirit.“By the Spirit the Father and the Son will come and make their abode with you.” {EGW, BEcho, January 15, 1893 par. 8}.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
“The sinner then stands before God as a just person; he is taken into favor with Heaven, and through the Spirit has fellowship with the Father and the Son.” {EGW, 3SM 191} This is the true meaning of the above statement.
By the way, I did not ignore “There are three living persons of the heavenly trio.” This statement needs to be set in its correct order. To do this we must dig a little deeper into history.
The short answer for this quote is simple. In Ellen White’s original handwritten manuscript, a copy of which appears at the end of this response, it reads:
“ Here are the living three personalities of the heavenly trio…”.The typed transcript of her handwriting reads:
“ There are the living three person[the s is stroked out] [alities was superimposed above it] of the heavenly trio...”So she doesn’t say “three living persons of the heavenly trio” but she actually says “the living three personalities of the heavenly trio”. And just incase no one thinks there is a difference, the prophet herself saw a difference in that she corrected it. She obviously thought there was enough difference to warrant a correction, lest she be misunderstood (as is the case today) to be teaching a trinity. Is this why no one quotes the correction, but they quote “three living persons” all the time? Is it because they do not know, or do they know but are in denial? Surly the men up at the White Estate would know! Why are they still reprinting that statement everywhere incorrectly! Obviously, these people know (surly someone knows what they are doing) that when the prophet corrected it to read “the living three personalities” it will no longer serve their purpose to prove the three beings. And so, rather than accept the truth, let us just ignore the correction and let us print what we want to believe! Sorry, not for me.
Here is the longer answer for those who are really interested. Sister White tells us plainly “Regarding the testimonies, nothing is ignored; nothing is cast aside; but time and place must be considered.” {1SM 57}
If we consider the time of the writing of the statement mentioned it is the year 1905. Another consideration that must be kept in mind is the context of the statement. What is the place, or situation, that called forth the writing of this testimony? From the context of that letter (which can be found in Special Testimonies Series B #7, pp. 60-64) we learn that it is regarding the issue of Dr. Kellogg.
“God does not accept Dr. Kellogg as His laborer, unless he will now break with Satan.” Ibid, p. 64
She refers to a doctrine he was teaching as “advanced scientific ideas.” She says that right after quoting the Bible passage speaking of the “depths of Satan” (see Rev. 2:24). What was Kellogg teaching that caused Ellen White to use this strong language? What doctrine was Kellogg trying to teach that originates with Satan?
The answer is simple and clear, yet it is little known among many many Adventists. The fact of the matter is that Dr. Kellogg was teaching the doctrine of the trinity! Yes, he was teaching a trinity of 3 co-eternal co-equal beings! At that time, he expressed to leading brethren of the church that he believed that there were three separate divine beings in the Godhead. This claim is not made without evidence. Here is what A. G. Daniells wrote to W. C. White regarding this matter in 1903.
“Ever since the council closed I have felt that I should write you confidentially regarding Dr Kellogg’s plans for revising and republishing ‘The Living Temple’…. He (Kellogg) said that some days before coming to the council, he had been thinking the matter over, and began to see that he had made a slight mistake in expressing his views. He said that all the way along he had been troubled to know how to state the character of God and his relation to his creation works…
He then stated that his former views regarding the trinity had stood in his way of making a clear and absolutely correct statement; but that within a short time he had come to believe in the trinity and could now see pretty clearly where all the difficulty was, and believed that he could clear the matter up satisfactorily.He told me that he now believed in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost; and his view was that it was God the Holy Ghost, and not God the Father, that filled all space, and every living thing. He said if he had believed this before writing the book, he could have expressed his views without giving the wrong impression the book now gives.
I placed before him the objections I found in the teaching, and tried to show him that the teaching was so utterly contrary to the gospel that I did not see how it could be revised by changing a few expressions.We argued the matter at some length in a friendly way; but I felt sure that when we parted, the doctor did not understand himself, nor the character of his teaching. And I could not see how it would be possible for him to flop over, and in the course of a few days fix the books up so that it would be all right.” {Letter: A. G. Daniells to W. C. White. Oct. 29, 1903. pp.1, 2.}
Dr. Kellogg had come to believe in the doctrine of the trinity. He believed in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!
Was Ellen White aware that Kellogg wanted to revise his book and include a trinity of 3 god-beings? Did she have any words to say about this? She most certainly did, in light of the fact that the above letter was sent to her son, she most surly had something to say about the republishing of the book to include a doctrine of a trinity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit).
“It will be said that Living Temple has been revised. But the Lord has shown me that the writer has not changed, and that there can be no unity between him and the ministers of the gospel while he continues to cherish his present sentiments. I am bidden to lift my voice in warning to our people, saying, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked" (Gal. 6:7).” {EGW, 1SM 199} 1904 (So how could she believe the same thing, as many claim, and yet reprove Kellogg for wanting to publish it?)
What were the “present sentiments” of Dr. Kellogg? According to his own confession a year earlier, he had come to believe in a trinity of 3 divine beings.
In self defense Kellogg claimed that his teachings were the same as Mrs. White. He even would quote statements from her writings to support his “new” teaching. Mrs. White denied this charge in plain testimonies:
“I am compelled to speak in denial of the claim that the teachings of Living Temple can be sustained by statements from my writings. There may be in this book expressions and sentiments that are in harmony with my writings. And there may be in my writings many statements which, taken from their connection, and interpreted according to the mind of the writer of Living Temple, would seem to be in harmony with the teachings of this book. This may give apparent support to the assertion that the sentiments in Living Temple are in harmony with my writings. But God forbid that this sentiment should prevail.” {1SM 203.3} 1904
She admitted that there may be in her writings “many statements” that can be “taken from their connection” (context) and explained in such a way as to “be in harmony” with Kellogg’s teaching, and as such seem to lend his doctrine some weight. But, she said “God forbid that this sentiment should prevail.” Was Sister White aware that her writings can be twisted to teach a trinity of 3 divine beings? This is the very thing that Kellogg was trying to do. This is the very thing that many today are also trying to do! But, tragically, the deception today is far deeper and worse. In as much as the “Omega” is greater and deadlier than the “Alpha.”
In October of 1904 Sister White wrote:
“ It is not safe to trust in Dr. Kellogg. I dare not do it. I have not written to him much, recently, but I may have to send something soon. I have not the least confidence in his present attitude toward many things. I learn that notwithstanding all I have written regarding "The Living Temple" a book that was written under the inspiration of the arch-deceiver; notwithstanding with many plain messages that I have delivered in the "Review and Herald" and in letters to our brethren in responsibility, Dr. Kellogg now admits only a few of the mistakes he has made, and still supposes that in former years I taught the same errors. This reveals a blindness beyond conception. All that I can now do is to watch developments closely. I can not see that it would do the least particle of good to say more than I have said.” {BCL 103.1}By November, 1905 Ellen White had to again write a testimony in denial of Kellogg’s continued claims. This time she wrote a testimony that clearly defined what she believed to be true, in opposition to Kellogg’s doctrine of 3 individual beings in the Godhead. This is the testimony in question. This is the testimony that is used by many today to teach the very same doctrine that Ellen White was reproving! In it she clearly defined who she believed were the divine beings. As in all her other writings, she maintained that God the Father and His Son were the only divine beings. “The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead”, “The Son is all the fullness of the Godhead”. This is her consistent belief in ALL her writings. This was the belief of the entire denomination at that time. Having established this faith of two beings who are the fullness of the Godhead, she then said the “Comforter is the spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead” meaning the comforter brings us the fullness of the Godhead which is the Father and the Son. This Comforter is defined by her: “This refers to the omnipresence of the Spirit of Christ, called the Comforter” which she described as a third “personality”, not another separate divine being. She sums it all up by affirming “Here are the living three personalities of the heavenly trio.” Here they were, described by Ellen White. Those were the three heavenly personalities that she recognized – but as Ellen White’s testimony revealed, she only recognized two Divine Beings, and their omnipresent Spirit. There was no “third being” - no third separate divine individual.
When Ellen White responded to Dr Kellogg’s theological errors it was to reprove, not approve. If Dr. Kellogg wanted a “trio” or a trinity, and tried to convince others that Ellen White agreed with him concerning the trinity, then this was the way Ellen White saw that “trio” being composed. She would agree that it could be argued that there were three divine personalities – but only two divine Beings.
We know that Ellen White recognized a distinction between “persons” and “personalities” since the manuscript reveals that she first wrote “persons” and then, as a correction, she crossed out the “s” on “persons” and added “alities.” If these two words both conveyed the same meaning in her mind, the change would not have been necessary. Ellen White also wrote the word “the” which tends to emphasize that, despite what Dr. Kellogg was teaching, her own definition was the only “trio” that Ellen White recognized.
Here it is again as she maintained four years later. Here is the “trio” that she recognized:
“ Let them be thankful to God for His manifold mercies and be kind to one another. They have one God and one Saviour; and one Spirit--the Spirit of Christ--is to bring unity into their ranks.” {EGW, 9T 189}
Thank you is due to Nader Mansour for this analysis