Adapted from Systematic Theology, by Alva Huffer, published by Church of God General Conference, Oregon, Illinois 61061, U.S.A.)

Chapter 1    Home

The Bible is the sole authority for Christian doctrine and conduct. It is the only infallible rule of faith and practice; it is the test for truth. The Word of God is the final authority to which theological questions must be referred. It is the only measure one can use to formulate true doctrines concerning God and His relationship with the universe.

Christianity is based upon facts. The theology of the true Christian religion is accurate; it embodies the truth; it conforms to reality. The doctrines of Bible theology are in agreement with the mind of God, who is the truth and the source of all truth.

Heathen religions are characterized by ignorance, superstition, and fanciful speculation. Christianity is founded upon facts, faith, and God's revelation of truth. Pagan mythologies are filled with stories that never happened and the adventures of heroes who never existed. The Christian religion, in contrast, is based upon historical facts. The Biblical narrative describes men who really lived and events which actually occurred.

The Founder of Christianity is a real person. His supernatural birth, earthly ministry, crucifixion, resurrection to immortality, and ascension to heaven are historical events. The theology which explains the true doctrinal significance of His life and works is conformable to fact and in accord with reality. A Bible synonym for the gospel message of salvation is the truth. When one believes the gospel he acknowledges the truth.

Is truth important? Does it make any difference what one believes? Is there any direct connection between one's religious belief and his eternal destiny? Is accurate knowledge essential to salvation? Many persons assert that religious belief is unimportant, that theology is nonessential. They declare that it makes no difference what one believes as long as he is sincere and has good intentions. They insist that all religious roads lead to God, that the roads men travel may be varied, but the ultimate destiny for all is the same. They teach that all religious men are going to the same place.

Some men feel that heathen religions are as valid as Christianity. They think Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Mohammedanism are just as good as Christianity. They suggest that Christianity should combine with the best elements of all religions in order to create one universal religion. Christianity, however, is not merely one religion among many; it is the religion. Jesus is the only Saviour; Christianity is the only way to God. All other religious roads are dead-end streets. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Paul declared, "There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Peter taught, "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Redemptive contact with God can be established only through Christ.

What one believes is important. Sincerity alone is not sufficient. It is essential that one believes the truth. Sincerely thinking that a bottle of poison taken from the medicine cabinet is a bottle of medicine does not change its contents. Sincerely thinking that one is on the right road when actually he is traveling the wrong direction does not enable him to reach his destination. Millions of heathen persons who worship idols and sincerely believe that they thereby will attain salvation actually are lost and doomed to destruction.

Faith is essential to salvation, and knowledge of truth is essential to faith. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). The four F's of Christianity are facts, faith, feeling, and fruit. The first two are requirements; the last two are results. Faith must be based upon facts; belief must result from information. The one authoritative source for this information is the Bible.

What one believes does make a difference. It made an important difference for Adam and Eve who believed the lie of the serpent instead of the truth of God. One's salvation is dependent upon his believing the gospel. The gospel is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (Rom. 1:16). The importance of believing the gospel is emphasized in Christ's missionary commission. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:15, 16).

Seeing that Christianity is based upon truth and that knowledge of truth is vital to salvation, one is led to inquire concerning the test for truth. What measure can one use to determine what is true and what is false? What standard can one use to formulate true doctrines concerning God?

Some men seek to determine divine truth by consulting the positions of stars in the sky, cloud formations, flights of birds, lines in one's hands, bumps on one's head, tea leaves, shuffling of cards, throwing of dice, and the analysis of dreams. These and similar superstitions cannot be valid sources of information concerning God's will and truth.

The ultimate test of truth, moreover, is not human reason, subjective experiences of Christians, tradition, sacred books of heathen religions, creeds, church councils, or popes.

The Bible alone is the final authority for Christian doctrine. The church has no right to formulate any doctrine which is not taught in the Bible. God's Word is the measure one can use to determine what is true and what is false. It is the authoritative source of truth

The sixty-six books of the Bible constitute the inspired Word of God. It is not that the Bible contains the Word of God; the Bible is the Word of God.

The Bible is genuine. The books of the Bible are authentic. They are not forgeries. The books actually were written by the men to whom they are ascribed. For example, the Gospel of Mark was written by Mark, the Epistle to the Romans was written by Paul, and the Revelation was written by John. They are not spurious. They were not written by men in later centuries. They are genuine.

The Bible is credible. The books of the Bible relate events that actually happened and describe men who really lived. The doctrinal teachings recorded in the Bible are true. The men who wrote the Bible were honest. Their writings harmonize with each other perfectly. History and archaeology confirm the truthfulness of the Bible. They show that the Bible is not fictitious but credible.

The sixty-six books of the Bible are canonical and constitute the completed canon of the Holy Scriptures. They are the only books that qualify as the authoritative embodiment of the divine revelation.

The Bible is inspired. It had a supernatural origin. It is the Word of God, the message of God to man. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Tim. 3:16). "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1:21).

The inspiration of the Bible is evidenced from the fact that the Bible itself claims to be the inspired Word of God. Old Testament writers, for example, used such statements as "thus saith the Lord" more than 3,800 times. Jesus and the apostles recognized the Old Testament as being inspired and authoritative. The apostles claim to have received the Spirit and to have spoken under its influence and authority.

The amazing unity of the Bible written by almost forty men over a period of time of more than sixteen centuries shows its divine origin.

The exact fulfillment of prophecies, the lofty standards of conduct required for men, the tremendous influence it has exerted in the lives of men, its survival through centuries of opposition, and its confirmation by archaeology, history, and true science are among the many evidences of the Bible's inspiration.

Chapter 2    Home

God has made the human mind in such a way that it is natural for man to want to organize acquired information. This organizing instinct within man provides a necessity for a systematic study of theology.

System and order are characteristics of God and His works. God always works in an orderly way. One can observe system and order everywhere throughout nature from the structure of atoms to the movements of stars. God's work of creation, recorded in the first chapter of Genesis, reveals the progressive realization of a definite plan and program. God instructed Noah to build the ark in an orderly manner according to specific dimensions. The construction of the tabernacle was according to a definite divine blueprint. The unfolding of God's plan of salvation has been progressive, orderly, and systematic. A systematic study of theology, therefore, finds its basis and necessity, not only in man's organizing instinct, but also in God's nature and work. Paul exhorted: "Let all things be done decently and in order" (I Cor. 14:40).

Systematic Theology is an organized, intensive study of revealed facts concerning God and His plan of salvation for mankind. Systematic Theology considers all Bible doctrines arranged and studied in a scientific, orderly manner.

The first four words of the Bible describe not only the origin of this planet, but also the starting point of Systematic Theology --" In the beginning God."

Systematic Theology begins with the doctrine of God and concludes with the doctrine of the future. One division of Systematic Theology naturally leads into, and lays the groundwork for, the succeeding divisions. Our thoughts travel in a logical order from doctrine to doctrine--God, man, sin, Christ, salvation, the church, and the future.

To begin with God, is to begin with the Ultimate. To start one's journey into the light with Him is to begin with the Fountainhead of truth. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Prov. 1:7). Belief in God and the study of revealed facts concerning Him are the first requirements of Christian theology.

An understanding of the doctrine of God forms the basis for true spirituality. Although some men have head religion without heart religion, genuine heart religion is produced by proper head religion. Religion apart from God is man-centered and void. Men have inadequate faith in God because they have insufficient knowledge concerning God. They find it difficult to pray because they do not consider the nature of the one to whom they pray. Men's hearts seldom bow in true worship because they do not recognize God's transcendent wonder and infinite worth. To have an adequate Christian faith and a vigorous spiritual life, one must begin with God.

The doctrine of God is the most important thought man can consider. It is the loftiest subject one can study. Facts concerning God's nature and work constitute the most significant realities in the universe. Jesus said, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). It is of major importance that believers be fully informed concerning the nature, characteristics, and works of God. Christians will spend eternity with God; they should desire to become acquainted with Him today.

God created man with an inborn ability to recognize His existence. It is normal for man to believe in God; it is abnormal for him to be an atheist.

One is not surprised to discover, therefore, that belief in the existence of a supreme being or beings is found among all men. Heathenism has corrupted the glory of God into idolatry and the truth of God into mythology, but the recognition of His existence is still there. The counterfeit proves the reality of the true.

The existence of God is recognized as a fact by the writers of the Bible. It is regarded as a reality that requires no proof. The opening words of the Bible announce the fact and existence of God: "In the beginning God" (Gen. 1:1). The writer of Hebrews insisted, "He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Heb. 11:6).

Dr. William Newton Clarke wrote:

There are three classical arguments for the existence of God. These arguments, derived from man's observation of nature and his reasoning concerning God, have been used by religious thinkers since ancient time. They are the Cosmological argument, the Teleological argument, and the Anthropological argument.

The Cosmological argument reveals God as the eternal, self-existent First Cause. The Teleological argument reveals that this great First Cause possesses intelligence and will. The Anthropological argument leads one another step further. It reveals this personal, intelligent First Cause as one who possesses holiness, justice, and truth.


1. The Cosmological Argument. Existence of creatures requires the existence of a Creator. Every effect must have an adequate cause. The universe has not always existed. There was a time when the universe did not exist. The universe must have had an origin. The Originator, the Source, the First Cause of all existence is God. Of all existence, God alone is uncaused, without a beginning. Before God created the universe, He existed alone. God is the First Cause of the universe.

The writer of Hebrews stated this argument when he said, "Every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God" (Heb. 3:4).


2. The Teleological Argument. God has left His fingerprints on everything He has made. Everywhere one looks in nature he can see the fingerprints of God. Order and design everywhere in nature identify the universe as the handiwork of God.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). "The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead" (Rom. 1:20). "He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?" (Psalm 94:9). "O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches" (Psalm 104:24). "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:3, 4).


3. The Anthropological Argument. The first two arguments consider proofs derived from the universe as a whole. The Anthropological argument considers indications of God's existence as derived from man himself.

Conscience in man testifies that a Moral Governor, Lawgiver, and Judge exists. Apart from God's existence, man's conscience cannot be explained.

God's revelation of Himself to mankind through supernatural events constitutes additional indications of His existence. God has left witness of His existence not only in the material universe and man's moral nature, but also in the history of men's lives. God's revelation of Himself through the supernatural implies His existence.

The Bible as a divine book proves God's existence. Apart from the existence of a divine Author, the Bible cannot be explained. The fact that this amazing Book itself exists proves the existence of its Author. The Bible records God's revelation of Himself to mankind. The Bible, therefore, is an authentic source of material for proof of His existence.

Fulfillment of countless Bible prophecies in minute detail proves the existence of the One who foretold these events. (Isa. 45:21; 46: 9-11.) Miracles, which have occurred in history and have been recorded in the Bible, can be explained satisfactorily only as the working of God's supernatural power.

The supernatural life of Christ, including His unique birth, His ability to perform miracles, and His resurrection to immortality, indicates God's existence. An atheist remarked that it was not the Bible so much as it was the Christ of the Bible which he could not explain away.

Christian conversion and the tremendous influence Christianity has exerted in the world can be explained only by the existence of God. The testimony of thousands of persons who have experienced remarkable transformations indicates Christ's supernatural work and God's existence. As a blind man is assured that the sun exists by feeling the warmth of the sunshine, so Christians are assured that God exists because they feel the transforming effects of His power.

Chapter 3    Home

God's natural attributes are: infinity, eternity and immortality, immutability, omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence.

God is infinite. He has no limitations nor imperfections. Man is limited by relations of time and space. He has mental and physical limitations and imperfections. Man is finite; God is infinite. God's powers are unlimited. He has universal and perfect relations with all other existence.

God is unsearchable. Finite man cannot comprehend the fullness of the infinite God. Man can know God and much about God, but he cannot know everything there is to know about God in all details of His total perfections. Man can know God because He has revealed Himself to man. The infinite God is unsearchable. (Job 11:7; Psalm 145:3; Isaiah 40:28; Rom. 11:33-36.)

God is eternal. There never was a time when God did not exist. He always was, always is, and always will be. Eternity is infinite time.

Eternity extends in both directions. It is just as far backward into eternity as it is forward into eternity. For the believer, eternal life has a beginning but will have no ending. God, however, not only will live forever in the future, but also has lived forever in the past.

God is immortal. He is not subject to death. That which is immortal is deathless, imperishable, incorruptible, indestructible, indissoluble. It never fades, never dies, never ends. It does not depreciate, decay, or corrode. It results in unending existence; it is exempt from death.

The fact that God is eternal refers to His endless duration of existence. The fact that God is immortal refers to the type of physical nature He has that enables Him to have that eternal existence. God's eternity and immortality are linked together.

God is unchangeable. What He now is He always has been and always will be. God cannot change for the better because He is already best. He cannot change for the worse because He thereby would cease to be perfect. Infinite perfection is unchangeable.

All created things are subject to change and deterioration, but God remains always the same. Stars burn out, mountains wear away, buildings crumble; plants wither, flowers fade, animals die; metal rusts, food decays, machinery wears out. Mankind changes, suffers, and dies. In our changing universe, only God is unchangeable.

God is perfect in knowledge. God's mind is perfect. His knowledge is infinite, eternal, and complete.

God is everywhere present. Wherever we are we can say, "God is here!" He is our nearest environment. One is no nearer to the presence of God on a mountain than he is in a cavern. Nearness to God is not a matter of geography. No point is nearer to God's presence than any other point. One needs not shout across the empty miles to an absent God. God is here; He can hear your faintest whisper.

God is not everywhere present in the same sense. God is in heaven, His dwelling place (1 Kings 8:30); Christ is in heaven at God's right hand (Eph. 1:20); God's throne is in heaven (Rev. 21:2; Isa. 66:1). Heaven is a real place. Although God is in heaven, through His power and presence He is everywhere present and acting.

God is all powerful. He is almighty. His power is infinite. There is nothing that He cannot do. With Him all things are possible.

The power of God is designated in the Bible as God's Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the impersonal power of God. The Bible uses the words power and spirit interchangeably. Every work that God does is performed through His power or Spirit.

God's moral attributes describe His character. They designate the properties within God's nature that determine His moral relationships with mankind. What God does is determined by what God is. The works of God are based upon the character of God.

The three fundamental moral attributes of God are holiness, love, and truth. Holiness includes righteousness and justice. Love includes mercy, grace, lovingkindness, and goodness. Truth includes veracity and faithfulness.

God is holy. Holiness refers to God's moral perfection. The holiness of God involves a positive aspect and a negative aspect. The positive aspect of God's holiness is the fact that in Him all goodness dwells. The negative aspect is the fact that in Him no moral evil exists. The first thought is designated by the word excellence. The second is designated by the word purity.

The Bible presents God's power in contrast to man's weakness, God's wisdom in contrast to man's ignorance, and God's holiness in contrast to man's sin.

God is love. Love is an outstanding moral attribute of God. Love has no existence apart from God; God performs no work apart from His holy love. Love is a basic characteristic of His nature. The truth is not merely that God loves, but that God is love. Love is not simply something God does; it is His nature. His love is neither occasional nor limited. There are no times when God does not love, and there are no spheres which His love does not cover. The glorious truth is that God is love. "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love" (I John 4:8). "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16).

The fact that God is love means that He desires and delights in the welfare of His creatures. Through desire God longs for us, seeks after us, and claims us as His own. Through delight God rejoices in us and bestows upon us His richest treasures.

God's love fills the universe. Every particle of creation is submerged in the love of God. The circle of His affection compasses all His creatures. "For God so loved the world." Although life may be filled with disappointments, one knows that God is love and His love eventually will triumph.

God Is Truth. This means that what God knows agrees perfectly with what God is. He is divinely self-consistent. He is real, genuine, true to His nature. The truth of God is the guarantee of reality, the stability of existence, the foundation of certainty. Men can discover scientific facts and truths in history only because God is truth and is the source of all truth.

We trust in God because He is trustworthy. We depend upon Him because He is dependable. We have faith in God because He is faithful. We believe in God because He has revealed Himself as Truth through His Word.

Chapter 4    Home

God is one. There is only one person who is God. Before the universe came into being, the living, personal, self-existent God was alone. This one infinite and perfect Being is unique. He has no identical. He is in a class of His own. In His nature, personality, and attributes God is undivided and indivisible.

The unity of God includes two primary thoughts: the oneness of God and the unity of God's character. The oneness of God refers to the fact that there is only one person in the universe who is the supreme source and ruler of all things. The unity of God's character refers to the truth that His nature is undivided.


Christianity is based on monotheism. The God of the Old Testament is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity in the Roman Empire constantly conflicted with paganism. The unity of God naturally became a fundamental doctrine of the apostolic church. Wherever they went, the early missionaries of the church proclaimed the truth of God's oneness. Their converts "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" (1 Thess. 1:9).

In writing to the church in the idolatrous city of Corinth, Paul asserted: "We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him" (1 Cor. 8:4-6).


"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time " (1 Tim. 2:5, 6).

There is one God, one human race, and one mediator between the two. The one God is a unity who alone is the source of all created things. His character is holiness, love, and truth. The one human race has descended from its common ancestors, Adam and Eve. The human race had a common origin and constitutes a unity. The entire human race is in sin and needs salvation. The one mediator is Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.

The fact that there is only one God is an outstanding teaching in the Bible. It was the basic message of the prophets and apostles. It is the foundation truth of the gospel.

1. One God. The Bible clearly states that there is one God. Bible writers show that God is a sole individual, a unique being. God is one; there is one person who is God.

2. The Only God. The Bible teaches God's simple unity not only by stating that He is one, but also by affirming that He is the only God. The word "only" means alone, by one's self, apart, to be solitary.

3. There Is None Other. All, others are excluded. There is none else. God is alone; beside Him none other exists.

1. God's Infinite Attributes. The oneness of God is required by the fact that God is infinite. Reality permits the existence of only one person who is absolutely perfect. There can be only one person who is supreme. Pre-eminence excludes all but one. When one speaks of the original, the source, the first cause, the greatest, the highest, the supreme, the ultimate, the final, he refers to a position that only one person can occupy. God's infinite superiority requires Him to be a single unit, a sole individual, a unique being.

For more than one infinite God to exist would be a contradiction of thought. If several persons existed as God, they would limit each other. They would need to be finite. None would be all in all--the one supreme God.

2. The Unity of Nature. The unity of nature reveals the unity of God. All created things form not a multiverse but a universe. The universe evidences itself as the work of one mind, one power, one will--one God. Each new scientific discovery emphasizes the truth of the unity of nature and the oneness of God.

3. Man's Psychological Nature. Man finds a oneness of life in the oneness of God. Unity of personality and purpose is discovered in loyalty to one God. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut. 6:4, 5). Because God is supreme, men are to worship Him supremely. Because God is one, men are to love Him with oneness of person. The one God who is all in all insists on total loyalty in His creatures.

Psychology recognizes the need for an organizing principle in man's life. Every circle needs a center. Every solar system needs a sun. Every life needs a supreme loyalty to give it unity and purpose. The oneness of God fills this basic psychological need within man. In supreme loyalty to the one God, man finds a center for his circle and an adequate purpose for his life.


Sinful men cannot worship, obey, and love God in an acceptable way until they become properly related to God through the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ. The sinner must turn his back to sin in repentance before he can turn his face toward God in worship. He must exercise trust in Christ as Sacrifice before he can yield proper obedience to Him as Lord. He must surrender to God's saving grace and transforming power before he can be filled with Christ's imparted righteousness which is love. Only through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, therefore, can man properly fulfill his threefold responsibility of worship, obedience, and love.

Chapter 5    Home

The Word of God teaches that there is but one God, the Father, who is one in essence and person. There is only one person who is God. It teaches that Jesus is not God but the Son of God. He is divine but not deity. Jesus is the most highly exalted person in the universe next to God. Christ eternally will be subject to His Father, the one supreme God. The Holy Spirit is the impersonal power of God through which He performs His works.

1. Only One Person Who Is God. Jesus is not God because there is only one person who is God. This one person has been identified as the Father. Jesus, therefore, cannot also be God. There is no other person who can be God in the same sense in which the Father is God. "To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him" (1 Cor. 8:6). "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all " (Eph. 4:6). Jesus is divine but not deity. He is the divine Son of God, but He is not the deity, the Supreme Being.

The unity of God is not compound. One God means one person. This one person is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.


2. Jesus As Mediator Cannot Be God Himself. "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). Jesus is mediator between God and men. Jesus, therefore, is not God Himself. If Jesus Himself were God and equal with God, as trinitarians assert, He would not be in a position to serve as mediator. As mediator one must be a third party. If Jesus were God and equal with God, He would be one of the two parties and could not serve as mediator between the two--God and man. (Gal.3:20.) The fact that Jesus is a mediator nullifies the possibility of His being part of a trinity.

Jesus insisted that He and His Father are not identical. He and His Father are separate in personality, essence, and being. He declared that He and His Father constitute two separate witnesses. "It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me" (John 8:17, 18).


3. Jesus Is the Son of God. Jesus is not God Himself nor part of a triune God because He is the Son of God. He cannot be both God and the Son of God. The Father and the Son are neither equal nor identical. The Father lived before the Son. The Son received His life from the Father. The Father is greater than the Son. Jesus was begotten of His Father and born of Mary. He is the Son of the living God. The New Testament abounds with scriptures stating that Jesus is the Son of God.


4. God Is the God of Jesus. Jesus recognized the Father, the one true God, as His God. Jesus never claimed to be God Himself. He did not pretend to be equal with God. He always regarded the Father to be superior to Him, His God. In the following scriptures, Jesus refers to the Father as His God, or God is described as the God of Jesus.

5. Jesus Prayed to His God, the Father. Jesus revealed that He was not Himself God when He prayed to His Father as God. If Jesus were equal with God, why did Jesus pray to God? Trinitarians claim that God, Jesus, and the Spirit all have one intelligence and one will. If Jesus and God share one will, the power of decision, it would seem like mockery for one person of a trinity to pray to another person of a trinity. Jesus showed that He is inferior to His Father and that His Father alone is God by the fact that He prayed to Him.

6. Jesus Is Inferior to God. Jesus occupies the most highly exalted position in the universe next to God. Jesus is not equal with His Father. God is greater than His Son; the Son is inferior to His Father. Jesus, therefore, is not God. Recognizing this fact is not failing to give proper glory to Christ; it is recognition of the true relationship between God and His Son.

Jesus declared, "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28). When Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30), He did not teach that He and His Father were one in essence or being (as trinitarians assert) or one in person (as Sabellians teach). He referred to the unity of purpose and perfect accord that exists between Himself and His Father. Jesus prayed that this same unity would become a reality among His followers. (John 17:11, 21-23.) Jesus always realized that His Father is greater than He. This clearly shows that Jesus cannot be part of a triune God.

After Christ's redemptive rulership has been completed and God has put all enemies under His feet, Jesus will continue to be subject to God. God will be supreme. He will be all in all. " For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." (1 Cor. 15:24-28.)

Jesus lived as God's servant. He yielded perfect obedience to His Father. He always did those things that pleased God. This showed that Jesus recognized Himself to be inferior to God.

7. Jesus Inferior to God in Attributes. The New Testament reveals Jesus Christ as inferior to God in attributes. This is definite indication that Jesus is not God Himself. He is neither equal with God nor identical with God. He is not part of a triune God.

God is infinite and perfect in all His attributes. In all these things God is unchangeable. His infinite perfection can neither increase nor decrease. What He has been, that shall He always be. Jesus showed Himself to be inferior to God in His attributes.

Inferior in Knowledge. God is omniscient. He is perfect in knowledge. "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world." His knowledge is infinite, eternal, and complete. Jesus, on the other hand, was not omniscient. Jesus "increased in wisdom" (Luke 2:52). If Jesus were God with infinite knowledge, how could He have increased in wisdom?

God's knowledge is underived and unacquired. His knowledge originates within Himself. "Who hath taught him?" (Isa. 40:13, 14.) Jesus, on the other hand, received His knowledge from God. (John 8:28.)

God's knowledge includes all things past, present, and future. He knows all things. Jesus, on the other hand, was limited in knowledge in regard to the date of His return. (Mark 13:32.) Jesus is not God.

Inferior in Power. God is omnipotent. He is almighty. He has infinite power. "With God all things are possible." God's power originates within Himself. Through His power God performs all His works. Jesus, on the other hand, was not omnipotent. The power Christ exercised in performing miracles was received from God. He said, "The Son can do nothing of himself " (John 5:19). The power which Christ uses to accomplish His work in the church today and which He will use in ruling the earth in His future kingdom has been received from God. God's power originated within Himself; Jesus received power from God. Jesus is not God.

Inferior in Life. God has always existed. There never was a time when God did not exist. God not only will live forever in the future, but also has lived forever in the past. God's life was without beginning. Christ's life, on the other hand, had a definite beginning. There was a time when Jesus did not exist. Jesus will live for all eternity in the future, but He has not lived for all eternity in the past. Jesus is inferior to God in regard to age and previous length of life.

God is the source of all life. He derived existence from no one; He possesses life within Himself. Jesus, on the other hand, received life from God. If it were not for God, Jesus never would have existed. Jesus was begotten of the Father. His life was derived from God. The power of God caused Mary to conceive and bring forth a son. If it were not for the holy power of God, Jesus never would have been born. "The Holv Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). Jesus said, "The living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father" (John 6:57).

Jesus also received resurrection life from the Father. God raised Jesus from the dead through His power, the Spirit. (Acts 10:40; 13:30; Rom. 10:9.) Jesus voluntarily laid down His life as a sacrifice. He had authority to lay it down and He had authority to receive it again. (John 10:17, 18.) Jesus did not raise Himself from death. He was raised from death through the power of God. God is the source of all life; Jesus received life from God. Jesus is not God.

God Cannot Die. God is immortal. He is not subject to death. God always has been immortal and always will be immortal. It is impossible for God to die. Jesus, on the other hand, was born mortal. He died. Jesus had the characteristics of mortal man. He experienced hunger (Matt. 4:2), thirst (John 19:28), weariness (John 4:6), temptation (Matt. 4:1), and suffering (Luke 24:46). Jesus died (John 19:33; 1 Cor. 15:3). God cannot die; Jesus died. Jesus is not God.

Jesus became immortal when God raised Him from the grave. Jesus received immortality from God. Jesus can never die again. (Rom. 6:9.) When Jesus comes, all true believers will be made immortal like Him. (1 Cor. 15:52, 53; Phil. 3:20, 21.)


8. Divine Attributes and Positions Received from God. Some men argue that Jesus must be God and a part of the trinity because He exercises certain divine authority and reveals certain divine attributes. Exalted at God's right hand, Jesus has received divine authority and power from God. This, however, does not prove that Jesus is equal with God, God Himself, nor a part of God.

The fact that Jesus has been exalted by the Father shows that the Father is greater than Jesus. The fact that Jesus receives divine positions and works from God shows that Jesus is inferior to God. Today, Jesus has been exalted to the highest position in the universe second only to God Himself.

Authority Received from God. Jesus said, "All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28:18). Jesus always realized that His Father was superior to Him in authority. He lived in perfect obedience to God. After His resurrection, Jesus received divine authority from God. God's authority is derived from no one; it originates within Himself. God is greater than Jesus; Jesus is inferior to God. Jesus is not God.

Kingship Received from God. Jesus is designated King of kings. God has always been King of the universe; Jesus received His kingly authority from God. The basis of Christ's kingship is the fact that He is the Son of David (Luke 1:31-33) and also the Son of God (Psalm 2:6-9; Dan. 7:14). Jesus did not become Son of David and Son of God until He was born of Mary.

Work of Judgment. God has authorized Jesus to be Judge of mankind. God has committed judgment unto His Son. God will judge mankind through the work of Christ, the Judge. Jesus has received this position and work from God. (John 5:22, 27; Acts 10: 42; 17:31.) The fact that Jesus received this prerogative from the Father shows that the Father is superior to Him. Jesus is not God.

His Invisible Presence. Although Jesus is in heaven, He is able to be everywhere present with His followers. He said, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:20). Jesus is able to do this through God's power, the Spirit. Jesus received this power from God. (John 15:26; Acts 2:33.)


9. Four Trinitarian Arguments Considered. Trinitarians object to the truth that Jesus is not God. The four main arguments they use to teach that Jesus is God Himself are: (1) divine attributes are ascribed to Christ; (2) divine prerogatives are ascribed to Christ; (3) certain scriptures state that Jesus was in the image or fullness of God; (4) Jesus is given the title "God" in certain scriptures.

We have already considered the first argument and observed that Jesus was inferior to God in attributes of knowledge, power, and life during His earthly ministry. He was dependent upon God in all things. Instead of proving that Jesus is God, His attributes prove that He is not God.

The second argument also has been considered. The fact that Jesus exercised or will exercise certain divine authority and perform divine works (King, Judge, etc.) does not indicate that Jesus is God. On the contrary, we notice that Jesus received all these positions and works from God, showing that Jesus is inferior to God.

The third argument used by trinitarians against the truth that Jesus is not God is the fact that certain scriptures state that Jesus is in the image of God. These scriptures are as follows:

These scriptures do not teach that Jesus is God. They do not indicate that Jesus is part of a trinity. The word "image" means likeness or impressed character. Jesus was the moral likeness of God. His character reflected God's moral attributes--holiness, love, and truth. Men could know what God's character or image was like by looking at the lovely life of Jesus. His life revealed holiness, righteousness, justice, love, mercy, lovingkindness, truth, veracity, and faithfulness. Jesus was godly; He was God-like in character and conduct. Jesus was not God Himself; He reflected God's character in His perfect life.

The fourth argument used by trinitarians is that Jesus is given the title "God" in a few scriptures. Three principal scriptures are: John 20:28; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8.

This argument is answered by the fact that the word "God" (Hebrew elohim and Greek theos)sometimes is applied to men and to angels in the Bible. When used in this secondary sense, the word "God" indicates someone who is a representative of the one true supreme God.

Moses was designated as God in relation to Aaron (Ex. 4:16) and to Pharaoh (Ex. 7:1). Moses was called God (elohim) but he was not the one supreme God nor part of any trinity. Moses was God's representative. Human judges, representatives of the one true God, are designated as God. In Exodus 22:28 the word "gods" refers to human judges. In Exodus 21:6; 22:8, 9; and 1 Samuel 2:25, the word "judges" is translated from the Hebrew elohim or God. Psalm 97:7 is quoted in Hebrews 1:6. The "angels" of Hebrews 1 are the "gods" in Psalm 97. Angels are representatives of God, but not God Himself.

Israelites were called "gods" in Psalm 82:6, 7. Jesus quoted this verse to show this fact. "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" (John 10:34-36.)

The fact that the word "God" is used in the secondary sense as a representative of God in Hebrews 1:8 is shown by the next verse. In Hebrews 1:9 the one true supreme God is described as the Son's God. "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (Hebrews 1:8, 9 is a quotation of Psalm 45:6, 7.)

Jesus is not God Himself. He is not part of a trinity. Jesus is the Son of God.

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The Holy Spirit is not a person distinct from the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is impersonal. It is not part of a trinity. It is the divine energy through which God performs His works.


1. The Spirit Is the Power of God. The Spirit is not a person distinct from the Father and the Son because it is the power of God. The Holy Spirit is the impersonal power of God. Every work that God does is performed through His power or Spirit.

Spirit is translated from the Hebrew words ruach and neshamah and from the Greek word pneuma. Pneuma is in Greek scriptures what ruach is in Hebrew. Spirit means air, breath, wind, power, animation, and the manifestation of one's power.

The Holy Spirit is the power of God. The terms power and spirit can be used interchangeably. God performs His mighty works through His power. Through His Spirit, God created the universe (Job 26:13) and gave life to mankind (Job 33:4). Through His Spirit, God gave strength to Samson (Judges 14:6; 15:14), wisdom to Solomon, and inspiration to writers of Scripture (2 Pet. 1:21). God's Spirit gave life to Jesus (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:20) and enabled Him to perform miracles (Matt. 12:28; John 3:34). Through that power, God raised Jesus from the dead to immortality (Rom. 1:4; Eph. 1:19, 20). These divine works were different in purpose, but the one Spirit of God was the unchanging medium for performing these works.


2. The Word "Spirit" Is Neuter. The Spirit is not a personality because the Greek word pneuma, translated Spirit, is neuter in gender. Articles and pronouns referring to it also are neuter.


3. Impersonal Symbols. God's impersonal power, the Holy Spirit, is designated in the Bible by impersonal symbols. Some of these are wind (John 3:8; Acts 2:2), fire (Matt. 3:11), water (John 7:37-39), oil (Psalm 45:7; Isa. 61:1), seal (Eph. 1:13), dove (Matt. 3:16), lamps (Rev. 4:5), and breath.


4. Impersonal Characteristics. The impersonal characteristics of the Spirit reveal it as the power of God and not as a personality. The Spirit is mentioned as poured out (Isa. 32:15; 44:3; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17; 10:45), shed (Titus 3:5, 6), breathed (John 20:22), and filling people (Acts 2:2, 4; Eph. 5:18). Jesus was anointed with this power (Acts 10:38). Men were baptized in it (Matt. 3:11; Acts 1:5; 1 Cor. 12:13) and drank of it (1 Cor. 12:13). It is compared to the blowing wind (John 3:8). The Holy Spirit is impersonal.


5. No Personal Name. The Spirit is shown to be impersonal in that it has no personal name. God is a person; His name is Jehovah. Our Saviour is a person; His name is Jesus. The Spirit is not a person; it has no personal name. If the Spirit is a person, why does it have no personal name? The word "name" in Matthew 28:19 does not refer to a personal name. The word "name" in this verse means authority or as a representative of. The Holy Spirit is not a personality.


6. Never Addressed in Prayer. "The Holy Spirit is not a person, because in all the Bible there is not one prayer or song or exclamation addressed to it; nor is there one precept in all the Bible authorizing such prayer or song." (Gifford. Op. cit., p. 172.) Miles Grant wrote:

The Spirit is not mentioned in the hymns of adoration in Revelation. (Rev. 5:13; 7:10.) If the Spirit is a third person of a trinity, why is reference to it omitted?


7. Not Included in Apostolic Salutations. The power of God, the Spirit, is not usually mentioned together with God and Jesus in the greetings and salutations in New Testament letters.

The Spirit is not mentioned in any of the salutations in Paul's epistles. (Rom. 1:7; I Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:2; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2; Titus 1:4; Philemon 3.) God and Jesus are mentioned together repeatedly, but the Spirit is seldom mentioned with them.

Notice also the opening words of letters written by the other apostles. (James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:2; 1 John 1:3; 2 John 3; Jude 1.) These all mentioned God and Jesus but not the Spirit. The Spirit is mentioned in 1 Peter 1:2 but not as a person.


8. Not Mentioned As Enthroned or Reigning. The Bible pictures God the Father sitting upon His throne and Jesus sitting or standing at His right hand. The Father and the Son are associated together in judgment and redemption. The coming kingdom is the kingdom of God and His Christ. There is no mention of the Spirit's being a person or as one sitting upon a throne.


9. Not Related to Father as One Person to Another. The Spirit's relation to the Father is not that of one person to another person. The Spirit's relation to the Father is that of a power to a person. The Spirit is God's power. God's power is no more a person distinct from Himself any more than is His wisdom or love. The Father and the Son are persons but the Spirit is not a person.

The Father says "Thou" to the Son and the Son says "Thou" to the Father, but neither ever says "Thou" to the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father, but neither is mentioned as loving the Spirit.

The Spirit is never denominated "the third" or "the third person" in any way. Moreover, the Father is never called "the first person" and the Son is never called "the second person."


10. Objections Considered. Trinitarians claim, on the basis of Acts 5:3, 4 and 2 Corinthians 3:17, that the Spirit is God. They insist that since the Spirit is directly identified with God, the Spirit must be God and a separate personality. There is nothing in these two verses to warrant such a claim. Merely because the Bible states "God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16) one is not authorized to say that love is a separate personality distinct from the Father and a member of a trinity.

The Spirit is God's power. The working of the Spirit is the working of God and His Son. When one is filled with the Spirit, he is filled with the invisible power of God and Christ. The fruit of the Spirit is the result of Christ's working in the believer's life through His power.

When the Bible describes the Spirit as speaking (Rev. 2:7), it refers to the work of God speaking through His power. When the Spirit is described as making intercession (Rom. 8:26, 27), it refers to the intercession that Christ our High Priest makes for us through His power (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). Jesus is our only intercessor; He is our one mediator. When Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost, he lied to God who worked through that holy power. When men "grieve" (Eph. 4:30) the Holy Spirit of God, they grieve God Himself who works through His Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is described as eternal and holy because God is eternal and holy. When the Spirit, God's power, is pictured as having certain characteristics and performing certain works, reference is made to the one eternal God who has those characteristics and performs those works.


11.Masculine Pronouns in Greek no Proof of Personality. Our Lord promised His disciples that after He ascended to heaven He would send them God's power, the Holy Spirit. Through this power, Jesus would continue His work with and within His disciples.

This power was called the Comforter, Paraclete, Advocate, or Helper, because Jesus intended to work through that power in behalf of believers. Jesus is the one who would be the Paraclete or Advocate Himself. (1 John 2:1.) He is the one who promised to be with them always (Matt. 28:20) and be their source of comfort and help. Jesus said, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:18). The work of Christ's Spirit as Comforter, Advocate, and Helper was nothing other than the work of Christ Himself as Comforter, Advocate, and Helper through that divine power.

The Greek word for Comforter Parakletos is masculine in gender. (John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:7, 8, 13-15.) Therefore, translators used masculine pronouns to refer to the power of God in this portion of John even though that power itself was neuter and impersonal. The impersonal power of God was indicated by a masculine word "Comforter" because it was going to be used by the person, Jesus Christ. Jesus is a person, but the power, the Holy Spirit, through which He worked as Comforter was impersonal. The use of masculine pronouns in the verses cited is no indication of personality.

Wisdom in Proverbs is personified and referred to as she and her. This, however, does not indicate that wisdom is a woman or a person. It does not mean that she is part of a triune God. The fact that the Comforter is called he and him is no indication that it is a personality.

The Bible correctly teaches that there is but one God, the Father, who is one in essence and person. There is only one person who is God. It teaches that Jesus is not God but the Son of God. He is divine but not deity. Jesus is the most highly exalted person in the universe next to God. Christ eternally will be subject to His Father, the one supreme God. The Holy Spirit is the impersonal power of God through which He performs His works.

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Man's physical nature consists of two essential elements: (1) the dust of the ground and (2) the breath of life. The combination of the dust of the ground and the breath of life results in a living soul or person.

The historical record of God's formation of man provides the key to an understanding of man's physical nature. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7).

Man is made of "the dust of the ground." (Gen. 2:7.) God said unto Adam, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:19).

The phrase the dust of the ground refers to the chemical elements that constitute man's body. God has made all things by using various combinations of approximately one hundred basic ingredients that men have named chemical elements.

A chemical analysis of man's body reveals that it consists of 72 parts oxygen, 13.5 parts carbon, 9.1 parts hydrogen, 2.5 parts nitrogen, 1.3 parts calcium, 1.15 parts phosphorus, and small amounts of potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, magnesium, iron, silicon, iodine, and fluorine. The first six elements listed in this paragraph, therefore, make up more than ninety-nine per cent of man's body.

These chemical elements are found in soil in various compounds. They are absorbed into plants, where through chemical action they are prepared to be assimilated into man's body. When man eats food, some of these elements become incorporated into his physical nature.

After death man's body decomposes and the chemical elements return to the earth. "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:19). "Man shall turn again unto dust" (Job 34:15). "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth" (Psalm 146:4). "Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust" (Psalm 104:29). "All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again" (Ecel. 3:20). "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was" (Eccl. 12:7).

The dust-formed man was inanimate until he received life from God. "And the Lord God . . . breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7).

The breath of life is that vital force which enables man's body to function. The remarkable workings of man's brain and nervous system are possible only because this divinely given vital force is constantly present in his body.

The English Bible sometimes refers to man's breath of life as his spirit. Man's spirit is his breath of life. Spirit is translated from the Hebrew words ruach and neshamah and the Greek word pneuma. Pneuma is in Greek what ruach is in Hebrew. Spirit means air, breath, wind, power, animation, and the manifestation of one's power. The English words "pneumonia" and "pneumatic" are derived from the Greek word pneuma.

Man receives his breath of life or spirit from God's power, the Holy Spirit (Job 33:4; 27:3). Animals also have breath of life (Gen. 7:21, 22). Animal's breath is the same as man's (Eccl. 3:19). At death man's breath of life returns to its Giver (Psalm 104:29, 30; 146:4; Eccl. 12:7; Job 34:14, 15).

Man's breath of life or spirit is not a being or an entity in itself. It enables man's mind to work, but it does not possess a mind independent of man's brain. The breath of life causes the brain and nervous system to function, but it has no ability to think, feel, or will in itself.

The breath of life is not something that has consciousness apart from man's body. The breath of life leaves man's body at death. "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perish" (Psalm 146:4). When the spirit leaves man's body it continues to be the impersonal, unconscious power of God that causes man to live. Man's brain and nervous system are parts of man's body. They are buried in the grave and return to the earth. When the breath of life has left his body, man is dead. When his brain and nervous system are separated from that power of life which caused them to function, man becomes unconscious. "In that very day his thoughts perish."

Man's dust-formed body animated by the breath of life (spirit) constituted a living soul. Read Genesis 2:7 again: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." The word "soul" in this verse means creature or being. To say that a person is a soul is to say that he is a creature. In other words, Adam became a living creature.

The existence of the living creature required the union of the dust-formed body and the breath of life. The creation equation is as follows: the dust-formed body plus the breath of life equaled a living creature. Before Adam received the breath of life, he was an inanimate (soul) creature. After he received the breath of life, he was a living (soul) creature. When he died and the breath of life left his body, he became a dead (soul) creature.

1. Meaning of the word "Soul." The words translated "soul" in the Bible mean primarily life and secondarily creatures that possess that life.

2. Animals Designated as Souls. The Hebrew and Greek words translated soul are applied to animals as well as men. These words refer to the life possessed by both men and animals. Some of these verses are: Genesis 1:20, 21, 24; 2:19; 9:10, 16; Leviticus 11:46; Numbers 31:28; Proverbs 12:10; Ezekiel 47:9; Revelation 8:9; 16:3.

3. Man the Soul Is Mortal. The soul is never mentioned in the Bible as being "immortal," "undying," or "eternal." The soul is mortal. It is subject to death and destruction. It can be killed. It can die. The fact that the soul can die proves that it is not immortal. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul has no scriptural support.

When Jesus said, "What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" He referred to the man's life. Christ's soul was His life. Christ's soul died. He gave His life as a sacrifice. "Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin" (Isa. 53:10). "He hath poured out his soul unto death" (Isa. 53:12). "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption" (Acts 2:27). "His soul was not left in hell " (Acts 2:31). This shows that Christ did not have an immortal soul. If Jesus had been immortal, He could not have died. He who is immortal cannot die. Jesus poured out His soul or life in death. He was unconscious in death until God raised Him to immortality.

Man's soul, therefore, refers to the man himself and to the life that he possesses. The soul is not an entity distinct from man himself. It has no conscious existence apart from man's body. The soul is mortal. The soul, referring to man as a creature, goes to the grave at death. It can be utterly destroyed and will be destroyed in the second death if the person is non-Christian.

Man is a unity. His physical nature is undivided and indivisible. The union of man's body and the breath of life forms one living unit. The living unit is a living person having a multiplicity of endowment. He possesses many powers and abilities. He can do many different things. He can think, feel, and choose. He has a conscience and possesses character. His personality, however, is one undivided whole.

Man's mental nature and physical nature are not two separate entities within the individual. They are linked together. They form two inseparable parts of one unit. Man's mental nature really is a part of his physical nature. Man's mind results from the functioning of his brain. Without a brain, man cannot possess a mind. The brain is a part of man's body, his physical nature. The thinking, conscious part of man, therefore, results from the functioning of the physical part of man. Man is a unit.

As we have observed, the Bible very clearly teaches that the spirit is man's breath of life, the God-given vital force of life. The soul is man himself and the life he possesses. The Word of God, moreover, presents abundant testimony that neither the spirit nor the soul is a conscious personality which can exist apart from man's body. We have noticed that man is a unity, that no part of man continues to live after man dies. All men are mortal; all of man is mortal.

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Job, the ancient religious philosopher, asked, "If a man die, shall he live again?" (Job 14:14). To this question three answers have been given. Two answers are false; one answer is true.

Atheism's answer is that man will never live again. When man dies, according to this theory, his existence is ended for all eternity. Atheism denies the reality of God, the supernatural life of Jesus, and man's hope for eternal life. It asserts that there is no future life for any man.

Paganism's answer is that there is an immortal future life for all men. It declares that men naturally are immortal and cannot be destroyed. All men, according to its teachings, must continue to live in some form and in some place throughout eternity. It asserts that there is an eternal future life for all men.

The Bible alone gives the correct answer. The answers of atheism and paganism are incorrect. The Bible's answer to Job's question is that all men will live again, but only those who meet God's requirements will be given immortality and eternal life. Men who fail to meet God's requirements will be raised to judgment in the final resurrection and then will be destroyed. The Bible teaches that men naturally are mortal. It asserts that future eternal life f