Audio Download

The Evil Function of The Doctrine of The Trinity – Part 1

[Updated May 23, 2026]

K___ wrote: Hello Mike, Thanks for inviting me to write back. Concerning your email and article about your understanding of the Godhead; I have read it and believe I grasp your view, although I’m not sure I agree with you. Even as you wrote, I am willing to have my understanding change if I am wrong. I wouldn’t believe in the Trinity simply because tradition threatened me with hell-fire if I didn’t. Have you ever considered William Law’s understanding of the Trinity? It seems to make sense to me. Although this section deals with man created in the image of God, I believe it gives an understanding of the Trinity as he [William Law] saw it. (Italics mine) I’ll quote:

“Nothing can so fully, and justly show us the true nature of our Fall, as the nature and manner of our Redemption. These things have such a necessary correspondence, as cannot be denied, but by a mind utterly indisposed to receive conviction.” (End Quote)

 So let’s consider what Law says concerning the original of man in the image of God. [Emphasis Mike’s]

“Man was created by God after His own Image, and in His own Likeness, as a living mirror of the Divine Nature; where Father, Son and Holy Ghost, each brought forth their own nature in a creaturely manner. As the who is begotten of the Father, is the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son, as an amiable moving Life of both; so it was in this created image of the holy trinity. In it the Father’s nature generated the nature of the Son, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from them both, as an amiable moving life of both. This was the likeness or Image of God, in which the first man was created, a true offspring of God, in whom the Divine Birth sprung up as in the Deity, where Father, Son and Holy Ghost saw themselves in a creaturely manner. In the Divine nature the Father cannot possibly be separated from the Son, nor the Holy Ghost from both, or either of them.” (End Quote)

 I understand this to mean that man because of his likeness to God, could commune with God. Man’s soul in the likeness of God generated a life that was as God’s Life. This seems correct to me because man’s soul is constantly generating or giving forth a birth of some life. Now this life is either good or evil depending on the state of his soul; whether it be good or evil. (So it seems to me) Now let’s consider what happened to the state of his soul after the fall, according to [William] Law. [Emphasis Mike’s]

“Now by his transgression this image of the Holy Trinity was broken; the generation or birth of the Son or Word, and the proceeding of the Holy Ghost in him, were at an end; in the day that he sinned, in that day he died this death. And therefore what was he as to his soul? It was something that was deprived of that birth, which was the brightness of it’s glory, and which should be that in it, which the Son of God is to the Father; it wanted [lacked] that Spirit which was it’s amiable life, and which was to be that to it, which the Holy Ghost is to the Father and Son….. This was the state of the soul after the fall, when the birth of the Son of God and the proceeding of the Holy Ghost, were no more to be found or felt in it. Now it is a plain, manifest doctrine of the holy scriptures that man by the fall is in such a condition, that there was no help or remedy for him….. but by the Son of God’s becoming Incarnate, taking the fallen nature upon him. If this alone could be the remedy, does not this enough show us the disease? Does not this speak plainly enough, what it was that man had lost by his fall, namely, the birth of the Son of God in his soul and the procession of the Holy Ghost; and therefore it was that only the Son of God in so mysterious a manner, could be his Redeemer. If he had lost less, a less power could have redeemed him….. But since it is an open, undeniable doctrine of the Gospel, that there can be no salvation for mankind, but in the name and in the power of the Son of God, by His being united to the fallen nature, and so raising his own birth and life in it; is it not sufficiently shown us, that what was lost by the fall, was the birth of the Son of God in the soul?”

“It is said that we must be born again from above, born of God, born of the spirit; for this is expressly telling us what birth we have lost, and is only saying that the first birth is to be restored, or that divine birth is to arise, or to be brought again into us, as at the first, when the living image of the Holy Trinity was brought forth in us.” – The Grounds and Reasons of Christian Regeneration. (End Quote)

 I just want to add something here – I believe, if I am not mistaken, that you say that Christ is the Holy Spirit. But is this necessarily the case, though. It is true that Christ equates the coming of the Holy Spirit, with His coming to them; but does this mean He is the Holy Spirit? Is it not merely the case that as the Holy Spirit can only proceed from Christ (and the Father, I know!) that He (the Holy Spirit) can only come to them when Christ comes to them? This seems right to me.

Resuming William Law’s doctrine of the trinity:

“When it is known that the triune nature of God was brought forth in the creation of man, that it was lost in his fall, that it is restored in his redemption, a never- failing light arises in all scripture, from Genesis to Revelation.”

“The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is wholly practical; it is revealed to us, to discover our high original, and the greatness of our fall, to show us the deep and profound operation of the triune God in the recovery of the divine life in our souls…. for as everything that is in us, whether it be heaven or hell, rises up in by a birth, and is generated in us by the will- spirit of our souls, which kindles itself either in heaven or in hell; so this mystery of a triune Deity manifesting itself, as a Father creating, as a Son or Word regenerating, as a Holy Spirit sanctifying us, is not to entertain our speculation with dry, metaphysical distinctions of the Deity, but to show us from what a height and depth we are fallen, and to excite such a prayer and faith…… after this triune fountain of all good, as may help to generate and bring forth in us that first image of the Holy Trinity in which we were created, and which must be born in us before we can enter into the state of the blessed…… No person has fitness, nor any pretense, nor any ground from scripture, to think, or say anything of the Trinity, till such time as he stands in the state of the penitent returning prodigal, weary of his own sinful shameful nature; and desiring to renounce the world, the flesh and the devil, and then he is first permitted to be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; this is the first time the Gospel teaches, or calls anyone to the acknowledgement of the Holy Trinity.” – An Appeal to all who Doubt the Truths of the Gospel (End Quote Emphasis Mike’s]

I also cannot see how Christ, the Son of God, if a created being, is able to dwell in all His creatures. All creation was created in and through Christ, and all creation must have Christ in it if it is to have any glory or perfection. I hope you believe that I have no intention of arguing with you or anyone; I merely want to know what the truth is, and I feel that William Law has explained the nature of the Trinity better than anyone I have ever read. For a better and more in- depth understanding of what I have referred to, you can look up these two books of William Law’s on the internet and see whether you agree or disagree with him. I also remember you mentioning something about Adam and Eve – how God creates through Christ, as Adam creates through Eve (I can’t remember exactly, so forgive me if I have gotten it wrong), as somehow proving that Christ is an inferior created being to the Father. Consider the teaching of Jacob Boehme on this subject:

“God created His Image and Likeness in a single man. Adam was a man and also a woman;…. for God did not in the beginning make man and woman; He did not create them at the same time, because the life in which the two properties of masculine and feminine are united in one, constitutes man in the Image of God…. after the manner of the Father’s and Son’s property, which together are one God, not divided; for perfect love is not found in one property, but in the two, one entering into the other”. – Man in the Image of the Heavenly (Treasures from the writings of Jacob Boehme (End Quote)

Please let me know what you think of all this, whether you agree or disagree. Yours sincerely, K____

Hi K____,

It is good to hear from you again.

Just weigh what I say against the scriptures and don’t allow ‘scholarship,’ name recognition or the fact that someone has been so helpful in the past, to keep you from “trying the spirits.” How do we ‘try the spirits?’

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

‘Trying the spirits’ has to do with whether we should “believe” what we are being taught. I say all this with the greatest respect and appreciation for men like Andrew Jukes, William Law and Jacob Boehme. However, I never forget the need to “try the spirits.”

When I do this I am not ‘trying’ these men. One thing I am convinced of by Christ Himself is that we are not judged by what we produce. Rather, we are judged by what we do with what we are given, as demonstrated in the parable of the talents.

Luk 12:47  And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Luk 12:48  But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

What I mean by that is that God did not reveal to Andrew Jukes that “we are the circumcision” (Php 3:3). Andrew Jukes did not see nor fully comprehend the truth that “He is NOT a Jew which is one outwardly” (Rom.2:27-29). He did not fully understand that we “were [past tense] Gentiles,” but now in Christ we “are made near [to the] commonwealth of Israel [and are now] fellowcitzens in the commonwealth of Israel” (Eph. 2:11-19). Jukes did not see that the “Jerusalem that now is, is in bondage with her children… and we [Gentile Galatians] are the  children of the free woman” (Gal. 4:21-31). Jukes did not believe that “Jerusalem which now is… is in bondage with her children” and is “cast out” and “shall not be heir with the son of the free woman”, the Gentile Christians.

Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son [physical Israel]: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we [Gentile Christians] are not children of the bondwoman [physical Israel], but of the free.

Not being given this knowledge, Mr. Jukes draws the erroneous conclusion that Paul’s letters are ‘Katurah’.

“They [Paul’s writings] ‘smell sweet,’ but they will never be allowed to inherit the promises given to Abraham, because they were not born of Isaac.” (from Types In Genesis).

As much respect as I have for Mr Jukes, on this point he is dead wrong. What he teaches concerning physical, Christ-denying Israel, is the exact opposite of what the holy spirit inspired Paul to tell us:

Gal 4:28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

“We… as Isaac was, ARE the children of promise.”  “Israel [Isaac’s descendants] have not obtained that which he sought after, but the election [Gentiles in Christ] have obtained it.”

The Lord, sadly, blinded Mr. Jukes eyes from seeing the last verse of the previous chapter:

Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Mr. Jukes missed all of that. I do not hold that against him; I simply ‘try the spirits, to see whether they be of God.’

Now I point all that out about Andrew Jukes so you will see where I am coming from when I answer your question about William Law’s doctrine of the trinity. Mr. Law obviously believes in the unscriptural doctrine of the ‘fall of man.’  Neither Christ nor any of His apostles ever mentioned the so-called “fall of Adam.”

The reason no New Testament writer ever uses the phrase ‘the fall’ is that all the New Covenant writers understood that:

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay [Adam] was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made [the Hebrew reads ‘is making’] it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Every verb in that verse is in the Hebrew Qal Stem, which informs those with eyes to see the Adam, one generation after the other, is being made of clay, being made flesh and blood, was never intended to be the finished product. Adam was made of clay, and clay has nowhere to fall. Adam was “made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope.”

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made [right from the hand of the Creator] subject to vanity, not willingly [not by choice], but by reason of him  who hath subjected the same in hope.

 It was Christ Himself who made the first Adam “marred in the Potter’s hand… subject to vanity.” None of that was of Adam’s choosing nor by Adam’s fabled ‘free will.’

Read ‘After The Counsel of His Own Will at this link: https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/after-the-counsel-of-his-own-will/

This is what is meant when we read:

Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of  the dust of the ground [“marred”, Jer 18:4; “corruption”, 1Co 15:50, nowhere to ‘fall’, 1Co 15:50], and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Every “living soul” is also a ‘dying soul.’

Eze 18:4  Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Eze 18:20  The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

So much for the false doctrine of an “immortal soul”, which is contingent upon the greater false doctrine of ‘the trinity’.

William Law teaches the false doctrine of a triune God and then uses that false doctrine to establish the false doctrine of a triune man. Yes, mankind does possess a soul, a body and a spirit, but they are all the same person, and the soul is simply God’s knowledge of who we are even after the sinning soul dies. That ‘soul’ is not indestructible:

Mat 10:28  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Luk 12:4  And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Luk 12:5  But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

The Greek word translated as ‘hell’ here in Matthew and in Luke is ‘gehenna’. Gehenna signifies the lake of fire/second death in which our old man, our ‘soul’ is destroyed but “he himself shall be saved though as by [the lake of] fire”:

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned [old man’s ‘soul’ destroyed], he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

This is the same message given to Eve and  Cain. Eve’s curse was to be against her husband but with the assurance that in the end her husband,  signifying Christ, “shall rule over thee.”

Gen 3:16  Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to [Hebrew: ‘el’, against] thy husband, and [“though as by fire”, (1Co 3:15)] he shall rule over thee.

In the next chapter sin is personified, and Cain is told that even though sin is at the door in the end “though as by fire… you will rule over him.”

Gen 4:6  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto [Hebrew: ‘el’, against] thee shall be his desire, and [“though as by fire”] thou shalt rule over him.
Gen 4:8  And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against [Hebrew: ‘el’, same Hebrew word translated a ‘to’ in Genesis 3:16] Abel his brother, and slew him.

What was Adam? Was he a spirit having a physical experience as so many teach and believe? Let’s try that spirit and put it up against these words of our Lord:

Gen 3:19  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.

This is what we are being told when we read:

Gen 2:25  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Adam and you and I are dust, and if the Lord does not raise us up from death we will have “perished”:

1Co 15:16  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

If there is no resurrection then the “[dead] in Christ are perished”. The dead are not up in heaven, nor down in hell. They “are perished” unless they are resurrected.

Do you realize how few people believe these words. The whole Christian world believes that “He created man in His image” means that man was made perfect and immortal, and then he fell. The Truth of the scriptures is:

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made [right from the hand of the Creator] subject to vanity, not willingly [here is the Truth, it wasn’t by Adam’s fabled ‘free choice’ or his will], but by reason of him [God Himself] who hath subjected the same in hope

 God’s original plan was for Adam to disobey Him and come to see his corruptible nature and his need for a Savior. God had already provided this Savior before he ever created Adam. God is operating on plan A, and has been from the beginning.

We will pause our study at this point and in our next study we will give the scriptures which demonstrate the truth of the statement that Christ “was slain before the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:8).