One God, the Father alone; omnipotent, personal Creator; not a Trinity
Christadelphians affirm that God is one — the Father — who is the omnipotent, self-existent Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is personal, holy, righteous, and loving. He communicates with humanity through his Word and through the Holy Spirit (understood as his power and energy, not a distinct person). He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the God of Israel — who has revealed his purposes through the covenants and through Jesus Christ his Son.
The BASF describes God as 'the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ — the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort... not the author of sin but the source of all righteousness.' His unity is absolute: there is one and only one God, and that one God is the Father. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not co-equal divine persons within the Godhead but are, respectively, the Son of God (a distinct being) and the manifestation of God's power.
Christadelphians emphasize the absolute transcendence and uniqueness of the Father. They regard Trinitarian theology as obscuring God's oneness and as elevating Jesus to a status that neither Jesus himself nor the New Testament authors attributed to him. The God they worship is unambiguously 'one,' as the Shema declares, and this oneness is not a unity of three persons but a unity of one person.
Key Distinctions
- Theism type:
- strict unitarianism — the Father alone is the one God; no Trinity
- Primary divine attribute:
- love, holiness, and sovereign power
Scripture References
Sources
- Christadelphian BASF, Clause 1; John Thomas, 'Elpis Israel' (1849)