The Doctrine Of The Trinity

Throughout this semester I have learned many of the different christian doctrines. Many of them were challenged and also accepted in my weekend trip throughout Saint Louis. I think one of the most important topics that was discussed during my weekend was the consideration of the Trinity. In the Christian thought the word “trinity” is a term used to talk about the Christian doctrine that God exists as a unity of three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three of the staple thoughts include; God is three person; each person is divine; there is only one God. In their relations to one another, they are stated to be on in all else, co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial. With these three thoughts about the Trinity you also must remember that Christianity is a monotheistic religion.

Traditional Trinitarian language states that God is one ousia (substance/nature/essence) and three hypostases (persons). To stand within orthodox Christianity is to confess the Athanasian Creed—“That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons; nor dividing the Essence.” Each person of the Trinity is consubstantial, co-eternal and co-equal in glory and majesty. This understanding of the Trinity is essential to what it means to be a Christian. For this reason John Wesley is able to say in his sermon “On the Trinity,” “It [the Trinity] lies at the root of all vital religion.”

In the Christian faith, there is one existing God, fully manifested in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Every unit of the God-head is equally God, and fully God. Each member is identical in quality and essence, yet each has a distinct, personal expression of divine nature. In an article about family ministry, Bruce A Ware calls it, “not merely an equality of kind but what might be called an ‘equality of identity.’” However, before we can dive into the role of The Holy Spirit in the trinity, we must find scriptural evidence which verifies that The Holy Spirit is, in fact, God. The following scriptures are biblical evidence for The Holy Spirit’s deity.

Enfolded in the thought of monotheism, Christians believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as all being God. However, this concept strictly falls in line with polytheism or the worshipping of other gods. In order to explain this contradiction, Christians must be able to fully articulate the essence of God and Him existing in three persons.

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

“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” (Quotes About Christianity) This quote is from Ronald Regan, and I think it is a good representation of Christianity. Christianity is centered on the teachings and life of Jesus of Nazareth which is found in the Bible. Along with the teachings of Jesus, Christians believe in the Old Testament, that has biblical records that date back to 1500 B.C.E.. Some of these beliefs include the Holy Trinity, salvation, afterlife, and the Bible.

The Holy Trinity is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all combined together. Even if it is mentioned in the Bible that they are all the same person combined as one, people still ask, how can there be three Gods in one person?

A cornerstone teaching of many Christian beliefs is that of the Trinity. It is also a debated and misunderstood concept. Besides being just outright refuted, there are a couple of ways in which the Trinity is misunderstood. These misunderstandings can relate to other religions which a person may be more familiar with, or might believe. God as the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit is a difficult concept to embrace fully but is not much unlike the concept of understanding an omniscient and omnipotent being that exists before during and after time. There are several explanations that help our human brains comprehend the concept and differentiate the Trinity from other religions. Two common religions view the Trinity as three gods such as Paganism or is one God that reveals himself in three different forms or persons such as Monism.

The three statements that summarize the biblical teaching are: God is three persons, each person is fully God, and there is one God (Grudem, 106). The Trinity is revealed to us when Jesus speaks to the disciples and says, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name...” (John 14:26). This is a revelation of God in three persons by the Son of God himself (Grudem, 107). Matthew 3:16-17 also shows us that each person is fully God and yet one for example: Jesus is standing there having just been baptized; the Holy Spirit is represented by the dove ascending; and God the Father speaks in a thunderous voice from heaven. We know that they are each distinct yet one, since Isaiah 45:5 God tells us, “I am the Lord, and there

Skeptics of Trinity theology perceive it as tritheism because of the term three persons in one. Though Wesley did use person terminology, he strongly emphasized that God was "three in one being, one in power, eternally God"(Oden,2012,p.56). The different parts of eternally God are distinguishable as Father, Son and Spirit. Wesley eludes to this as the persons can be distinguished but not separated, and this is the baptism in which we have been baptized (Oden,2012,p.56). This writer would not attempt to challenge Wesley's teaching on tri-unity but to characterize The Trinity teaching as one person with different manifestations existing in unity, and working in harmony. For it is in this change in terminology that can be considered in line with

The word ‘Trinity’ does not occur anywhere in the Holy Bible. However, that has never stopped Trinitarians from finding what they believe are broad hints that the Holy Trinity is, like buried treasure, to be found within the text of some biblical passages. In fairness, we will consider the most popular of these and then make up our own minds always with the sound proviso that long-held religious traditions cannot be maintained if they contradict the Scriptures because our beliefs must rest firmly on the teachings of the Bible.

A part of the Christian faith that has long been debated over, yet is a part of our solid foundation, is the belief in the Triune God. Christians believe that there is only one God, but God is also three individual and distinct beings. The Godhead is made up of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirt. It is important to note that although God is three different beings they are all consider one God because of the oneness of their nature. Although, the Bible never explicitly speaks about the Trinity, each of the members of the Godhead can be seen working together.

“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things are and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and through whom we exist(Corinthians 8:6).” God is trinity, and that means that God is one person and three beings. God is the father, the son and the holy spirt. God the father is creator and sustainer. God the son is Jesus, and God as the holy spirt is God active and present in everyone's life.

Genesis introduces us to the true nature of God, that being the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or simply put The Holy Trinity. Some may wonder how can God be three different entities, but this isn't the case and the simple answer would be because He's not limited in being like humans. But to further elaborate the Book tell us that "The Holy Trinity is one God in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy

Throughout the ages, scholars and different denominations tried to explain the Trinity, the three distinct Persons of God. But yet through the limited understanding of human knowledge and perceptions of God, they were not able to comprehend indefiniteness of God. One of the issues that Christians wanted to understand is the Triune God; in order to understand Trinity, it is helpful for us to know the existence of God. Then ask questions like; How the three Gods united and become One God? How should we understand Trinity? What are the positions and differences of Seventh-day Adventist belief from Evangelical? The scope and limitation of this paper are to answer the questions above and my own understanding of God as I study the scriptures.