The Trinity Research Paper

According to Genesis 1:1 (New Living Translation)”In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. This states that God is the creator of the universe and all living things. Not only was he the creator of the Universe, but it is vital to have the knowledge that he was the sole creator in this act. By God being the sole creator this shows that he is a sovereign God (Diffey, 2015). The Trinitarian, also known as the Trinity, the understanding of God is a crucial part when it comes to the Christian worldview (Diffey, 2015). The doctrine of the Trinity refers to the Godhead- God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ who is fully God and fully man), and God the Holy Spirit- three persons, same substance, one God (Jesus Christ, 2015). Regarding the Trinity, God is the first person in the Trinity, which is the Godhead-God the

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).

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 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,

The word "Trinity" was first introduced theologically by Tertullian. He believed that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit existed as one which he called the Trinity. He believed they were one God, of the same substance. Basil, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus, known as the Cappadocian fathers, are among the first to formulate the Doctrine of the Trinity. Stanley Grenz writes, "They declared that God is one ousia but three hypostaseis. The three independent realities share the same will, nature and essence. Yet each has special properties or activities" (Grenz p.60). One ousia means "one essence" and three hypostaseis means center of consciousness. The Blessed Trinity is one God in essence but self discloses as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are different from one another in role but all are divine and are equal in deity. "Each of the three trinitarian members fulfills a specific role in the one divine program. The Father functions as the ground of the world and of the divine program for creation. The Son functions as the revealer of God, the exemplar and herald of the Father's will for creation, and the redeemer of human kind. And the Spirit functions as the personal divine power continuously active in the world, the completer of the divine will and program"(Grenz p.67). While they fulfill different roles, they commune with

The Trinity believes God is three persons that exist in one being – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The scripture commonly used as a basis for this belief is John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (Engelbrecht, 2009) If you ask a Christian to explain any biblical doctrine they can easily offer an explanation. However, if you ask them to explain the Trinity, they will cannot. This begs the question, “how is it you follow a doctrine which you cannot explain?”

The Trinity is a hard concept for the human minds to fully comprehend. Although the word “Trinity” is not mentioned in the Bible, there is evidence that God is three in one. Jesus’ baptism described in Matthew 3:13-17 references the Trinity. Matthew speaks of Jesus coming out of the water, the heavens opening, and describing the Spirit of God descending like a dove and a voice from heaven saying “This is my Son, whom I love.” Also, in Matthew 29:19 it says “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” clearly stating they are made equal. Another example of the Trinity interpreted in the Bible is Genesis 1:26 saying “Then God said let us make man in our image.” It is almost like God is having a “discussion” with the Son and the Holy Spirit to make man like them. There are many references throughout the New Testament that make clear the plurality of this doctrine.

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.

In fact, we are talking about one, is a limited number. Therefore, the three limited figures together, of course, equal to three. However, the Trinity of God is infinite, in mathematics, infinitely infinite infinite infinite is only equal to an infinite. Thus, in man can not the Trinity in God be possible. The Father is infinite, for he is the Creator of all things, and has been called the Lord of the heavens and the earth in the Bible, the Most High God, and the Almighty who is ever, ever present. The Son is infinite, because he is eternal life of God, but to save the world for our human sin was crucified. But he could not have been put to death, so he was resurrected the third day after his death. Not only that, but after forty days, he ascended to heaven, to prepare us for heaven. And when we are ready, we will come again to meet all the people who have believed in him, and then we will be able to enjoy eternal life. The Holy Spirit is also infinite, because he is Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, the heavenly Father sent to the world, instead of the Lord Jesus as the protector of our lives. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is also known as the Counselor. When one truly decides to believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes into us and lives in my heart and becomes a higher standard of conscience. He personally protects us and leads us

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Holy Trinity is defined as the mystery of one God in three persons. Although the Holy Trinity is at the base of the Catholic faith, the Catechism also states that the Holy Trinity is “inaccessible to the human mind” . The Catholic Church practices monotheism, the belief that there is only one supreme God. Within this Godhead, there is an undivided trinity of three divine persons.

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?

The Trinity was not revealed in the Old Testament though it was connoted at in various places. During the creation of man God says, “…Let us make man to our image and likeness…” (Genesis 1:26). One must note that God says us and not me, which implies that He is more than one person. Then in Psalms there is an allusion to the Son and in Genesis the Spirit of God is said to be looking over the waters.

It is not the easiest chore for us on earth to accept that the Son of God, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, could be both human and divine. It is also not easy to accept that there are three Persons in one God. It is through faith and not by sight that we believe. It is also not by words alone that we believe. "Blessed are those who have not seen but believe". Our faith too is a mystery.

Spirit is God, yet there is only one God. The Nicene Creed (as translated by the International