t is common for people to doubt the Trinity of God because the word “Trinity” itself does not occur in the Bible. It is reasonable to think a concept that is so important to the Christian faith would have a formal definition included as a Bible verse so that it can be learned and memorized. In spite of the fact that there is not a verse that defines the word “Trinity”, the Bible does clearly show that God exists as three equal persons as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament constantly insists that there is only one God who must be worshipped and loved as the only God. The New Testament agrees. I think the concept of God being the Father is easy for Christians and peoples of other religions to accept …show more content…
The Old Testament descriptions of God are applied to Jesus by both Matthew (Matt 3:3, Isa. 40:3) and John (John 12:41, Isa. 6:1). Jesus’ disciples were convinced He was God because he possessed the attributes of God: Life (John 1:4), Self-existence (John 5:26), Immutability (Heb. 13:8), Truth (John 14:6), Love (I John 3:1), Holiness Luke 1:35), Eternity (John 1:1), Omnipresence (Matt. 28:20), Omniscience (Matt. 9:4), Omnipotence (Matt. 28:18). Dr. Wallace’s textbook also provides examples in Scripture where a) the works of God are ascribed to Jesus (John 1:3, Col. 1:17), b) honor and worship due only to God is given to Jesus (John 5:23, Rom. 10:9, Heb. 1:6, Phil. 2:10-11, Rev. 5:12-14, and c) Jesus’ name is associated with that of God on an equal basis (Matt. 28:19, I Cor. 1:3, II Cor. 13:14, John 5:23, John 14:1, Col. 3:1, John 5:18). Jesus promised to send a helper to carry on His work. The promised Helper was the Holy Spirit. From the start He was recognized as the third divine Person, as one who receives honor due only to God (I Cor. 3:16) and is associated as an equal to God (Matt. 28:19, II Cor. 13:14). Peter said in Acts 5:3-4 that to lie to the Holy Spirit is to lie to God. The Holy Spirit also has God’s attributes ascribed to Him, such as Life (Rom. 8:2), Truth (John 16:13), Love (Rom. 15:30), Holiness (Eph. 4:30), Eternity (Heb. 9:14),
The first four chapters of Genesis indicate that God is the eternal Creator the universe; that God communicates with His creation and evaluates his own work, and that God is sovereign, exercising “supreme authority and absolute power over all things” (Lecture 2, para. 5). There is but one true God, who exists as a Triune Being and is three Persons in one essence; a Divine essence which exists wholly, invisibly, simultaneously and eternally, within three members of the one Godhead—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Lecture 2, para. 7). Harmoniously linked, “each divine figure of the Trinity exercises dominion over creation and is involved in the biblical narrative in its own unique, yet cooperative, way” (Johnson, p. 178). The unity of the Trinity not only illustrates the full divinity of God, the immeasurable power, benevolence, wisdom and omnipresence distinctly setting Him apart from His creation, but also shows that He is the source of all that is good, true, beautiful, loving, just, and
The Christian worldview believes in trinity, which means God is a trinity of persons. That is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are one. This was evident during creation. In Genesis 1:26 states “then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on
In his video “How Do You Make a Biblical Case for the Trinity?", Brett Kunkle provides three “steps” to systematically explain the essential truths of the doctrine of the Trinity (STRvideos). The first step is to “Start with the very clear passages that suggest that there is only one God” (STRvideos “How Do You Make a Biblical Case for the Trinity?”); this is essential to avoiding the heresy of tritheism. Several passages of Scripture, including Deuteronomy 6 and John 17:3, affirm that the God of the Scriptures is alone God of all the earth. The second step is to “Look[] at the distinction between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (STRvideos “How Do You Make a Biblical Case for the Trinity?”). By studying the various roles of the three members
Judaism as well as its offshoot and formation into the Christian religion both place great emphasis on the notion of their monotheistic God as revealed in the early scriptures. To them God has revealed Himself as the one Lord of all. Evident in the first Commandment that was
It is important to note the defined goals of the Trinity. One being that God sent His Son, Jesus did not send God. Jesus tells us in John 6, that He came to do the will of His Father. Jesus was not doing His own selfish will but everything He did was for His Father. Jesus and God sent the Holy Spirit according to Jesus’ words in John 14:26, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”. It is necessary to recognize the distinctions of the roles of the Trinity as if the roles were not distinctive there would be no Trinity.
While the deity is central for most Christians there are some who have different beliefs when it comes to all being one. For instance the Latter-day Saints( Mormonism) believe that God has a physical body and that man are able to become God, they believe that Jesus is Gods actual son and the holy spirit is separate and is regarded as an impersonal power or spirit being. Mormons do use the King James Bible but, they also have other forms of literature they have created to support their beliefs because they feel the Bible is not accurate. They believe that Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit come together to work as the God head and are all separate people. The Oneness Pentecostals believe that there is only one God. Pentecostal believe that God manifested himself in three ways or forms but not as three separate
This was the question that popped up in my head after reading the first chapter of The Orthodox Way, God as Mystery. More ironically, before they answered my question did they tell me that Jesus Christ is God and Holy Spirit is God as well. Usually multi-identities are not an issue for me or for anyone, but this time is a little, or a lot, different when it comes to God. In the chapter, God as Trinity, “The Christian God is not just a unit but a union, not just unity but a community… He is Trinity: three equal persons, each one dwelling in the other two by virtue of an unceasing movement of mutual love” said Ware (P. 27). Ono thing that needs to be confirmed first is that there is only One God, and God is the one essence embracing three persons. Secondly, in the case of Trinity a person is not just an individual, as opposed to that three human persons always “retain their own will and own energy no matter how closely they co-operate together” (P. 30). This indicates the property of “distinction but never separation” within the three persons; they are distinct as in differentiation and they are never separate because of the relationship formed by the shared one will and one energy. As a consequence, we surely have to turn to the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit if we want to know God holistically, especially the Oneness of God (Jones,
The definition of the Trinity according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead according to Christian dogma.” The basis of the Trinity is that there is God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are three separate parts, yet they make up one. While this is confusing to the naked ear, it actually makes logical sense on a deeper level. Scholars and philosophers struggled for years to give a valid explanation of the Trinity. It was not until Tertullian in the 2nd or 3rd century AD that a satisfactory explanation was given. Tertullian came up with the Trinitarian Doctrine, which basically
I will like to crave your indulgence to the fact that "Nicene concept of Trinity" is never stated in the Bible, and it is that early Christians as well as the scriptures clearly points out the fact that Jesus was fully divine and pre-existent. For the fact that, none of the early Christian theologians fully asserted the doctrine of the Trinity, not even a speculation about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. According to the father of the paganism description of Trinity "God can in no way be described." (Schindler 148).
When I was visiting the Jewish Synagogue we talked about what their thoughts were on the trinity and what Mem talked about was you cannot believe in the Trinity and be Jewish. There are many modern Jewish people that have considered Jesus to be great, or even one of the greatest Jews who ever lived. They have been brought up to believe that God is One, this is an idea that excludes any idea of God manifesting himself through Jesus. Christians, as well as Jewish people, must believe in One God. The Jewish believe that “echad” in Hebrew and one in English do mean the same thing and can mean either single unity or compound unity (God as
"How then do we arrive at a clear doctrine of the Trinity? Simply by accepting two lines of evidence in the bible: (a) clear statements that teach there is only one God; and (b)equally clear statements that there was Someone
It is important to begin by stating that there are many different doctrinal views of the Trinity. However I believe that the doctrine of Trinity defines one God who is eternally existent as three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “These definitions express three crucial truths: (1) The Father, Son, and
The traditional Christian belief that God is a Trinity can be summarized briefly: God is three persons in one divine nature. These three persons are traditionally named Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But, it seems like different religions have their different views of disagreeing with God being trinity. I can see why there is a disagreement because God is labeled to be three people, when people believe that God is one person. I personally believe that everybody can have their own way of defining God through their perception or they can follow what he reveals to us. Despite these challenges, it is possible to defend the doctrine of the trinity as a reasonable belief.
The first source to which Christian theology looks for it's teaching is the New Testament. It is the New Testament, which unfolds the divine plan introduced in the Old, and it is by the New Testament revelation that the Old Testament revelation is interpreted. For this reason all Christians theologians have made the New Testament their primary source for data in constructing views of God and His relation to the world. We must place all theology in context. As the Old Testament affirms, God is incomparable. Isaiah writes that we dare not make our God out of gold, or carry the divine around in a neat package to sit here or stand there. God reminds Israel, and all peoples, that "I am God and there is no other, I am God and there is none like me."
First of all, when describing who the Holy Spirit is, one must understand that the Holy Spirit is not an “it.” The Holy Spirit is a He. He is the third person of the Holy Trinity. He is God, just like the Father and the Son. 2 Cor. 13:14 proclaims the Spirits deity along with the Father and the Son when Paul said, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” His deity is also seen in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19 where we are told by Jesus to, “Go therefore and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.” When speaking of the phrase “another helper”, Charles Ryrie, American Bible Scholar and Christian Theologian, said, “The Promise of our Lord to