Author

Dr. James R. White

Subject Matter

Dealing with the intricacies of one of the most misunderstood doctrines of the Christian faith, The Forgotten Trinity is an attempt to clarify, describe, and refute inaccurate claims regarding the triune God. It is aimed to be put forth as a decidedly orthodox book and has no intention of shying away from calling out incorrect views as they are.

Review
I have read this book several times over the years. And while the pages of my copy yellow with age the arguments put forward within are as clear and precise as the day I first opened this book.

Whatever your familiarity (or lack thereof) with the doctrine of the Trinity, this book is easily read and understood.

Like most books I love, this book aims to deal with a very misunderstood topic in the Christian world. He makes specific observation that many Christians may agree with the creedal descriptions of the Trinity, they do not practice or experience anything different as a result. It is obvious from his opening line that he wishes to challenge this in the reader by saying, "I love the Trinity".

All three Persons of the Godhead are defined, described, and expressed in a thoroughly biblical way. You will search in vain for a chapter or section of this book that is not sourced in the Scriptures in a consistent and accurate way.

At the outset, it is clear that in the author's experience many speak of the Trinity in a misleading or misinformed way. This reflects my experience as well; when people have trouble with the Trinity it is almost universally a false concept of the Trinity that they are fighting against known as modalism.

As a theologian and Christian apologist, James White has written clearly, accurately, and authoritatively. He writes it in such a way as to meet the uninitiated where they are at. Never speaking in language to high or distant, it is as though you are having a discussion with a friend. A very, very well-informed friend that knows what the Scriptures teach on this topic.

Recommendation
5 stars, all the way. I have returned to this book many times over the years and will continue to do so. A superb contribution to the history of the church and its discussion on one of the central doctrines that make us what we are: followers of the triune God.

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I used to imagine that the grace of God was a fine thing that was necessary for salvation.

I was right.

As I began to grow and learn more about salvation, God, and the way He moved in the world, I started to realize that the grace of God was far more than necessary for salvation. Indeed it was sufficient for salvation. What a glorious thought! That God's grace alone is the source and cause of our salvation. That I need not look for any other cause, any other source, any other solution.

I was more right than I knew.

You see, I have spent many years imagining that I knew all about God's grace. That I could quantify and define it well. That I could express its realities and effects and that by so doing I would grow more thankful for the grace of God in my life.

I was wrong.

There is a wideness to God's grace that I have never known. As I assumed the vast focus of God's grace was exclusively on the glorious act of salvation, I have spent much time overlooking the grace of God in sanctification. Let me see if I can prod you to interact with it as well.

Have you ever desired God to punish you?

Oh, I don't mean expect Him to punish you but want Him to do so? That rather than know His gracious dealings with His beloved, you might be able to feel the scourge of His disapproval? Maybe it is my errant understanding of the "fear of the Lord." Maybe it is my pride wanting to take part in my own atonement so that maybe Christ would not have to suffer so violent a death if I suffer more intense consequences.

The more I grow as a Christian, the more I realize that there are parts of my heart that despise grace. Parts of me that would sooner suffer a thousand lashes of sorrow than the loving look of all-sufficient grace in the face of my Father. I, at times, want Him to look on my sin and deal harshly with me. Not in chastisement but in hatred. At least then I could feel vindicated, having suffered sufficiently to assuage my guilt.

Do I know? Do I even have the faintest inkling of the depths that Christ already suffered to rob me of my guilt? To steal away that precious guilt that pets my heart while singing soft words of hopelessness.

"Those who desire grace and forgiveness are weak," it hums, "but you are strong with me."

What I have learned is that the song is very deceptive and that without pride it would never stand. Because, I am weak but I think myself strong. The guilt that fights the onslaught of grace's siege has but the appearance of strength and can not endure. Eventually the defenses that guilt and pride have built will crumble at the sheer determination and consistency of the grace of God. And, as another section of the defenses fails as the grace of God floods the ramparts, I begin to see that my guilt, my sin, and my pride are no match for the grace of God that defies all measure.

It reminds me of an old hymn:

There's a wideness in God's mercy, like the wideness of the sea.
There's a kindness in God's justice, which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth's sorrows are more felt than up in heaven.
There is no place where earth's failings have such kindly judgment given.

For the love of God is broader than the measures of the mind.
And the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more faithful we would gladly trust God's Word,
And our lives reflect thanksgiving for the goodness of our Lord.


May God make me thankful for His grace.

One could imagine that such a basic question does not warrant its own article. It just means 'to believe,' right?

No. No it does not.

When Christians say they are saved by faith in Christ it is not a mere acknowledgement that Christ is real and actually came to live, die and rise from the dead. Those are historically provable facts. It is also not the admission or realization that He is a great Savior. Both of these aspects are necessary to saving faith, but they are not sufficient.

Then what makes saving faith different?

Imagine, if you will, that a ship you were on has just sunk. You have no life jacket, and around you on all sides are bits and pieces of the ship, none of which are of sufficient size to save you. You see people likewise in the water and some of them are placing their faith on planks and random items that are adrift in the water. You witness their struggle and realize that what they are trusting on is not satisfactory. 

Then you see in the distance one of the ship's lifeboats. You hear someone next to you call out, "We're saved!" You look over to him, bobbing in and out of the water, and remind him that he is still not in the boat.

"But I know that boat! It's strong and true. It will never sink and those who are near it are safe."

You both begin swimming over to it, driven by the familiarity and promised safety. Arriving to it you place your hands on the side and begin pulling yourself in. 

"What are you doing that for?" He asks, "You already know this is the lifeboat, right? What need have you to climb in? If there arises trouble, we are right here with the lifeboat."

"But, are we not in trouble already?" You ask. 

He replies, "Well, yes, but that is why we are here at the lifeboat." He knocked on the side of the boat, "Look how solid the craftsmanship is! This really is an amazingly sturdy lifeboat that could hold up to the greatest of storms; there really is no need to look for another lifeboat, this is the only one for me!"

Climbing in, I looked back to him and asked, "Don't you want to get in?"
 
"No," he said, "I am happy just knowing that I found this lifeboat."

The differences between people's definitions of faith can lead to some of the most destructive heresies in the church. When it comes to definitions, few could ever tell you properly what faith itself is, nor how efficacious faith is contrasted with dead faith. 

The illustration above is one that focuses on the two misconceptions of saving faith, and the one example of saving faith. 

First, we have the easily dispelled notion of "believe on whatever you want, just be sincere about it" crowd. These are those who, in that shipwreck, placed all their hope and trust (faith) on random pieces of wood that were insufficient to save them. This would be an apt description for anything but Christ.

Second, and much more common among the assembly of saints, are those unsaved who think themselves saved because they admit Christ is the Savior. Good for them, even the demons believe such. This is the man who swims with all his might to the lifeboat, throwing off all other hopes, but instead of getting into it he merely studies it. Appreciates it. Talks about it. 

Third, and the rarest of all, is the only saving faith. They will not trust in other things, they learn and admit that Christ is the Savior; and then they trust Him to save them by being "in Christ." In the metaphor of the lifeboat, it is the one who climbed in that actually experienced salvation, not the one who simply admitted the reality of the lifeboat's existence and power.

How quickly are some evangelists satisfied with a mere admission of Christ's ability and power to save! 

For salvation, one must place their trust, their hope, their all in Christ.

Recognizing a lifeboat's ability to save while remaining in the water will not save you in the least.

Get in the boat.
 

“You know,” I started, “I could eat these all day long.”  

As I laid back against a large rock, I rolled my eyes back in my head as I bit another piece of fruit.
 
Sighing contentedly in the dry breeze, I called out, “This world you made has pleasures aplenty! Why suffer needlessly?” 

I offered a piece of fruit to him again, as I had so many times in the past weeks. His starving eyes wouldn’t even look at it. I protested in a taunting voice, “It’s the last one.”  

He just laid in the dust amidst the rocks on top of this mountain where he had been for the past couple of days, he no longer had the strength to stand on his own.  

“You really outdid yourself on them,” I squinted into the glaring sun and pointed to the vultures circling overhead, “They always know before any other animal.”  

I looked back down to the failure on the ground before me as I ate the last of the fruit I brought with. “Well, it looks like it won’t be much longer anyway. Aren’t you hungry?” 

He nodded slowly. 

“You see that rock next to you?” I asked. “Eat it.” 

He closed his eyes and shook his head. I jumped down to where he was and walked up to the rock. “I’ve seen you do much greater things than this.” I tapped the rock closer to his face, “Come on. Turn it into bread and eat it. You know how much your body needs it.” 

His mouth was moving with hardly any sound coming out. I knew he said something, so I got closer. In a faint whisper between labored breaths, he said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live… by bread alone… but..’” he paused to get his breath, “but by every word that comes from God’s mouth.” 

My upper lipped curled in disgust. “You really believe that?” 

He nodded slowly and turned his head away from me. 

Speaking through my teeth, I said, “Let’s see how much you really believe that.”  

I gathered him up and threw him over my shoulder and began walking. I called out to the vultures, “We’ll be back! Stay hungry!” 

It took the rest of the day to walk back to the city. In fact, by the time we came to the city gates, it was well into the night.  

“It’s funny how protected they think they are with these walls,” I said as I pulled them open. “As if they have any strength against me.” 

I carried him up and came to the temple mount. Part of this structure was settled on the edge of the cliff down into the valley below. When we got there I set him on the edge overlooking the valley.  

“So, you really believe that you live by every word that comes from the mouth of God?” I asked, “Then jump!”  
I waited for him to consider what this would do. What a sign it could be to verify his identity. Everyone would believe him, not just a select few.  

“If you are the Son of God, you are certainly in safety to jump. Didn’t God say, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’?” 

He languished as he answered, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

I stood there for a while staring at the valley floor below, desiring to shove him off and be rid of him. 

I cannot tell you how wonderful my freedom had been these several thousand years. After being unceremoniously thrown from the garden, I made quite a name for myself. People served me all throughout the world, I even had several of my lieutenants possessing people throughout this little country to show everyone that incarnation is not such a unique feat as they would make it out to be. But in the midst of my freedom I’ve never been able to fully achieve what I set out to get. I wanted to be like God, but there was something missing. There was something missing and I was going to give up everything I had to gain possession of it. This man was here to win back what I took, and I was going to give it all to him for an insignificant recognition. 

 His voice seemed to hang in the air, “You can’t be serious,” I said.  

I picked him back up and slouched his lifeless frame over my shoulder, this time with annoyed force, “Follow me,” I sneered, “and I’ll make you the owner of all men.” 

I walked through the night in silence. “Would this work,” I thought to myself, “to give up everything that I have to gain possession of the one thing I’ve always wanted?” To be exalted over the realm of creation is high, to be sure. But what I wanted more than anything in creation was to be like the Most High. The only thing missing is the worship of the Son of God. I craved it. Not because I liked this sack of humanity on my shoulder, but because his exaltation of me would finally make me like God. I knew the power he had in his worship, I have seen it before.  
As we approached where we left from the day before, I threw him back down to his favorite spot there in the rocks. The morning sun was coming up and it was already becoming hot.  

“I wonder where those vultures went,” I said, squinting into the sun, “they are about to miss breakfast.” 

“You know,” I started, “you don’t need to go through all of this to win back the world.” I stopped to let it sink in. “I’ll give it to you right now.” 

He didn’t move. 

“Countries, kingdoms, fame, people, and worship. It’s all mine now, but it could be yours.” 

Again, he didn’t move.  

I looked down to him again, “Living on every word from God isn’t so enjoyable in the desert is it?”   

Again, he lay there nearly motionless, just a still small breath in him.  

“All these I will give to you if you just worship me.” 

From his dried and cracked lips, he quietly said, “Get out of here.” Although quiet, his words threw me flat on my back amidst the rocks. As I shook off the daze of confusion, I heard him say, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and only serve him.’” 

Hopeless. Utterly hopeless. This man was on the verge of death to worship God. I would have given him the whole world just to redirect his worship of God to me and he won’t take me up on it.  

“Fine!” I sneered as I walked away, “Go ahead and die!” 
​
After leaving him I looked back to see angels coming down out of heaven to feed and take care of him. I sat down here and am watching from a distance. If God is not going to let him die here, then I’m going to have to kill him myself. He will die and darkness will cover the land again.