A. Arianism One of the first early Church heresies is called “ Arianism.” Arianism stems from a church leader named Arias who taught that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit were not the same in essence, but different. Arianism says that only God the Father is eternal. The Son was created by God the Father before anything else; then everything else was created through the Son, who Himself was a created being. We do not talk about Arians any more, but they are still around in various cults, such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormonism, which also deny the eternal pre-existence of the Son by teaching that the Son was created by God the Father.
B. Sabellianism A second error is known as “Sabellianism,” also known as “Modalism” or “Modalistic Monarchianism.” Sabellianism teaches that there is only one personality, and not three, but this one personality would reveal Himself in three different ways. Sometimes He would reveal Himself as the Father, whenever He was presented as the Creator and Lawgiver. If the issue was redemption, He would
reveal Himself as the Son. Sometimes this one Person would reveal Himself as the Holy Spirit if the issue was regeneration and sanctification. So as Creator and Lawgiver, He would reveal Himself as the Father; as the Redeemer, He would appear as the Son; as a Regenerator and Sanctifier, He would appear as the Holy Spirit. Today, this error is taught by segments in the Christian world that are called “Jesus Only.” They say only Jesus is God, and that Jesus is the Father, Jesus is the Son, and Jesus is the Holy Spirit. The modern teachings of Jesus Only deny the Trinity, and is a revival of ancient Sabellianism.
C. Socinianism A third heresy that plagued the Church is known as “Socinianism,” also called “Dynamic Monarchianism.” Socinianism, which devaluated the Trinity, did not see all three Persons as co equals; rather, it saw each Person of the Trinity as less than the previous Person. They taught that only the Father is God. The Son is not God; the Holy Spirit is not God; only the Father is truly God. The Son is man; the Holy Spirit is not a personality, but only a divine influence. This, too, is a common teaching among certain cultic groups.
D. Unitarianism The fourth heresy is “Unitarianism” which, very simply , denies the Trinity . It denies that the Godhead consists of three co-equal Persons. It is a denial of the tri-personality and is very similar to Judaism in this regard.
E. Tritheism The fifth heresy is called “Tritheism.” This is like Polytheism, but it limits the number of gods to three. This is a denial of the unity of the Godhead, and sees three gods rather than three personalities of the one God. While Unitarianism denies three personalities and only affirms one God, Tritheism denies the unity of the three Persons and sees them as three separate gods.
Of course, none of these five views adequately deals with the Scriptures that clearly teach the concept of a Triunity. The true biblical teaching about the Godhead must encompass three specific areas: first, “The Plurality of the Godhead,” secondly, “The Unity of the Godhead,” and thirdly, “The Trinity of the Godhead.”
