The Doctrine Of The Trinity

Hey Mary. You did an excellent laying out the foundation of the Trinity within your post. During my childhood, my church also taught the analogy of the three-leaf clover. I enthusiastically agree that although such an illustration is aimed at helping, a human analogy cannot or will never accurately define the Trinity. As I read your post, I thoroughly enjoyed the way in which you informed your reader of basics interworking’s of the Trinity. However, reading on, I felt as though you did not delve into why the Trinity is truth. The book, Richard of Saint Victor, On the Trinity: English Translation and Commentary, provides an excellent starting position for one’s explanation of the Trinity of being truth. Richard of Saint Victor argues that in

God the Son is revealed in the Christian Scriptures. God the Spirit is revealed in the Church. The Trinitarian doctrine states that there are three co-eternal, equal persons in God, which is the notion of unity within community. The Trinitarian doctrine was further developed and defined at the councils of Nicaea in 325 CE and Constantinople in 381 CE. God was always trinity, however gradually this reality became known through revelation. Jesus calls God and speaks of the spirit which indicates a plurality in God. The difficulty is reconciling the concept of monotheism with the notion of God existing as three persons. The divine essence is common to all three, however the three persons have attributes or properties which distinguished them eg Fatherhood, sonship and sanctifying power. Once essence means that the actions (creation, redemption, sanctification) are attributable to all. Mutual relations is the concept that the terms Father and Son are not titles but expressions of a relationship and thus all three persons are co-equal

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

Trinity is one God. Each of the persons of the trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit “is God whole and entire”. I believe that the trinity of persons consists of one substance and one essence. Each of the persons is that supreme reality, the divine substance, essence or nature. Each of the three persons are distinct from one another, but known to be related to one another.

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.”

There are three foundational points in this theological approach that provide comprehension for that which seems beyond understanding --- God in one being; God in three persons. First, the main idea is centered on joining with Christ in the continuing ministry that substantiates the

In order to properly worship, imitate, and love our Lord, we must seek to know who our God is. However, fathoming the Lord becomes an anguishing process for those who seek to decipher the mystery of the Trinity while adhering the systematic philosophies and sciences that comprise Post-Enlightenment’s standards of reason. Instead, seeking to know our God revealed in three persons invites modern Christians to expand their theological imaginations by returning to the early mysticisms and spiritual practices of the early Christian Fathers and Mothers who created our doctrine of Trinity. In order to complete this task of better understanding the mystery of the trinity, we will first explain the historic doctrinal framework of the trinity, then

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,

There is nothing like going to church on Sundays and listening to a very heartfelt sermon about how God played a role in someone’s life. Not only that, but also the stories each Sunday vary depending on whether the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit is given the credit in the story. Sadly, some preachers fail to explain that all three persons were active in the person’s life. Walter Martin, an American Evangelical Christian minister and author, makes sure to point out that the “Doctrine of the Trinity teaches that within the unity of the one Godhead there are three separate persons who are coequal in power, nature, and eternity” (Martin). The most important part about this statement being that the three different persons within the Godhead are equally the same. So how does this make sense?

The essential trinity focuses on the relationship of the Son and Holy Spirit within God Himself. Augustine of Hippo taught the basis of essential trinity using his analysis of love: to love, there must be a lover, a beloved and their sharing a mutual love. On this basis of his psychological analogy, Augustine argues for a threefold understanding of the Godhead, in terms of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (McGrath, pg 195). Augustine states that just as there are three entities of the mind, there can be three persons of God.

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

As a result, fellowship, prayer, Bible study, worship, and most importantly salvation in its purest form can be discerned and acted upon correctly. In addition, a further understanding can be thus gained regarding the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Finally, heresies and heretical groups or beliefs can lead God’s followers astray from the truth and create an improper understanding, and thus relationship with God. Positions past and present have, and are, attempting to mislead Christians about the Trinity. A skewed view of the Trinity can result in a view of God as either divinely apart from creation or simply a better version of all the best attributes of humans. Some positions even take away from the Divinity of Jesus Christ. All of these views severely diminish who God is and alters a proper and true relationship and worship. It is a necessity that these errant views be exposed as a hindrance to God in order not to mislead God’s followers. Likewise a Biblically sound explanation of the Trinity is needed. As a result, a true and pure knowledge of the concept of the Trinity is crucially needed to understand God and be obedient to the Bible.

The Holy Trinity is a difficult thing to understand, much less to explain. This is true not just for non-Christians, but Christians themselves. The best explanation many young Christians get when they are growing up is that God is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all one, but are different in their own ways (such was the case with my own upbringing in a Catholic household, so I speak from experience). This doesn’t seem to make much sense, especially considering that it is similar to another Holy Mystery that is often brought up: that of Jesus Christ being wholly man and wholly God at the same time. The answers are more often than not unsatisfying, seemingly feeling like placeholders, and this frustration is only

Christians believe the image of God to be three Gods merged into one. The Trinity’s components are the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and they are all equal. Each form of God has the same attributes of all-powerful, all-knowing, always present,

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