Let’s begin to unpack
the Trinity, as I introduced last week. As
I challenged you to provide your thoughts on The Trinity (Triune God) from a
scriptural point of view, I thought I would take the opportunity to share my
perspective with you (fair is fair – right).
First, I am not a theologian, nor have I done an in depth study of the
Trinity and it is a highly complex principal belief of the Christian
faith. I will not be able to provide you
a comprehensive understanding, for I pale in qualifications to do so. What I would like to do though is provide you
with some scripture references that may be beneficial to you if you are ever
faced with the question from a skeptic.
So in layman’s terms what is the Trinity:
Point 1: There is only One God
Point 2: God is Three persons in One – The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit. Each of them are personas of God yet independent of each other. The Father is not the Son nor the Holy Spirit, The Son is not the Father nor the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is neither the Son nor the Father; yet all of them are God.
Point 3: All three possess the characteristics and holiness of God Almighty
Now, having said this, how do we back it up with scripture.
Deut. 6:4 - “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”
Isaiah 42:1-2 – “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.” – describing Jesus (my servant, my chosen) and the Holy Spirit (my Spirit) clearly states that God – Jesus – Holy Spirit are separate but all part of God (from first person). Yet Jesus [he] will bring justice to nations.
Following this read Luke 18:7 - “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones.” – God through Isaiah prophesies that Jesus will bring justice, and then Jesus in a parable states in Luke, “God will bring justice”.
John 1:1-3; 14 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made…. (14)The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” - Read this verse and replace the Word, with Jesus.
Refer back to Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our
likeness…” – God has clearly stated that man has the image of God, yet God has no physical form (reference to [Exodus 3] burning bush, [1 Kings 19] gentle whisper), so who’s image was He referring to? Jesus came in the flesh as the physical form of God Almighty, to whom mankind was created in the image of.
Acts 5:3-4 – “Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” - Peter speaks clearly to Ananias that his lie was to the Holy Spirit, and then in the same statement states that his lie was to God. This clearly identifies that the Holy Spirit is God.
John 20:17 – “Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” - Jesus’ words to Mary Magdalene clearly connects the Father to God as One, and separates Father from Jesus and God from Jesus and God from Father. Two of the three persona’s of God are represented here, and yet associated one to the other. Jesus ascends to the Father and to God. The Father and God are not the same, yet both are in a place to be ascended to, which connects them as One. Several verses throughout Jesus life reference “The Father” as a persona of God acting in this world and in heaven. “Father, Lord of heaven and earth”, “Father, forgive them, for what they do.”, “Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at work….”, “the Son can do nothing, only what he sees his Father doing..”, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”,etc.
John 8:54 – “Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.” Jesus is speaking to the Jewish leaders regarding their father Abraham and their claims that Jesus is a demon-possessed man. He continues later in the chapter:
John 8:57-58 - “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” - Jesus here claims that he was there before Abraham and uses the same words as God when he appeared to Moses – “I am” [Exodus 3:14]
Nowhere in the scriptures does it clearly state that God is three in one, but I have shown you several instances where the scriptures reference that the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God. We must try to comprehend that we are incapable of comprehending God with our limited knowledge and wisdom. The Father is a persona of God that gives us an insight to the characteristics of God that we can understand – love, grace, mercy, compassion, discipline, wisdom, sovereign, judge of right/wrong and so on. The Son is a persona of God in flesh that we could physically see, talk to, observe, learn from, and comprehend in a human form (Jesus Christ - Son of Man and Son of God). As a man his flesh can be tempted, will hunger, will tire, will weep, will worry, will bleed and will die. The Holy Spirit is a persona of God that exists in this world, in the hearts of mankind, to guide our walk with God in this life. Jesus introduced the Spirit to mankind after His resurrection as our comforter, our advocate, our helper to teach us all things from the Father.
So do not lose faith, but realize that the Trinity is a cornerstone of our faith and I strongly encourage you to study it, learn it and to make it your own. There will come a time when others will ask you to explain it, and you should be able to. Share your thoughts below, I’m very interested in your comments.
So in layman’s terms what is the Trinity:
Point 1: There is only One God
Point 2: God is Three persons in One – The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit. Each of them are personas of God yet independent of each other. The Father is not the Son nor the Holy Spirit, The Son is not the Father nor the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is neither the Son nor the Father; yet all of them are God.
Point 3: All three possess the characteristics and holiness of God Almighty
Now, having said this, how do we back it up with scripture.
Deut. 6:4 - “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”
Isaiah 42:1-2 – “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.” – describing Jesus (my servant, my chosen) and the Holy Spirit (my Spirit) clearly states that God – Jesus – Holy Spirit are separate but all part of God (from first person). Yet Jesus [he] will bring justice to nations.
Following this read Luke 18:7 - “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones.” – God through Isaiah prophesies that Jesus will bring justice, and then Jesus in a parable states in Luke, “God will bring justice”.
John 1:1-3; 14 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made…. (14)The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” - Read this verse and replace the Word, with Jesus.
Refer back to Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our
likeness…” – God has clearly stated that man has the image of God, yet God has no physical form (reference to [Exodus 3] burning bush, [1 Kings 19] gentle whisper), so who’s image was He referring to? Jesus came in the flesh as the physical form of God Almighty, to whom mankind was created in the image of.
Acts 5:3-4 – “Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” - Peter speaks clearly to Ananias that his lie was to the Holy Spirit, and then in the same statement states that his lie was to God. This clearly identifies that the Holy Spirit is God.
John 20:17 – “Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” - Jesus’ words to Mary Magdalene clearly connects the Father to God as One, and separates Father from Jesus and God from Jesus and God from Father. Two of the three persona’s of God are represented here, and yet associated one to the other. Jesus ascends to the Father and to God. The Father and God are not the same, yet both are in a place to be ascended to, which connects them as One. Several verses throughout Jesus life reference “The Father” as a persona of God acting in this world and in heaven. “Father, Lord of heaven and earth”, “Father, forgive them, for what they do.”, “Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at work….”, “the Son can do nothing, only what he sees his Father doing..”, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”,etc.
John 8:54 – “Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.” Jesus is speaking to the Jewish leaders regarding their father Abraham and their claims that Jesus is a demon-possessed man. He continues later in the chapter:
John 8:57-58 - “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” - Jesus here claims that he was there before Abraham and uses the same words as God when he appeared to Moses – “I am” [Exodus 3:14]
Nowhere in the scriptures does it clearly state that God is three in one, but I have shown you several instances where the scriptures reference that the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God. We must try to comprehend that we are incapable of comprehending God with our limited knowledge and wisdom. The Father is a persona of God that gives us an insight to the characteristics of God that we can understand – love, grace, mercy, compassion, discipline, wisdom, sovereign, judge of right/wrong and so on. The Son is a persona of God in flesh that we could physically see, talk to, observe, learn from, and comprehend in a human form (Jesus Christ - Son of Man and Son of God). As a man his flesh can be tempted, will hunger, will tire, will weep, will worry, will bleed and will die. The Holy Spirit is a persona of God that exists in this world, in the hearts of mankind, to guide our walk with God in this life. Jesus introduced the Spirit to mankind after His resurrection as our comforter, our advocate, our helper to teach us all things from the Father.
So do not lose faith, but realize that the Trinity is a cornerstone of our faith and I strongly encourage you to study it, learn it and to make it your own. There will come a time when others will ask you to explain it, and you should be able to. Share your thoughts below, I’m very interested in your comments.
Be Blessed,
Rich
I’ve also found Acts 1-2 and Romans 1 mention all 3 in the same passage.
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DeleteVery good work J. How incredible it would have been to be with the disciples on that day, and witness the tongues of fire and being anointed with the Holy Spirit.
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