Trinity
What The Bible Teaches
Unit 1
Who is God?
Lesson 4
How Can I Understand the Trinity?
accepting the existence of God.
logical arguments for His existence
why men fail to accept His existence.
personal relationship God desires
General and Special Revelation
a gap -- attributes or characteristics.
demonstrate that the God of Scripture (Specific Revelation) has these attributes.
However, this presents a problem, for a close examination of the Bible will show that God (the Father), Jesus (the Son), and the Holy Spirit all possess Godly attributes. Does this mean there are three Gods in Scripture?
Isaiah 46:9 (NKJV)
9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,
The basis of monotheism is that God is one.
a tri-unity or trinity. How can God be one yet three?
How can I understand the Trinity?
Is it possible to understand the Trinity; or are you just called upon to accept the teaching by faith?
The importance of roles and relationships – major point of the Trinity?? The Trinity teaches us that one’s role in life, one’s possessions, one place in the organization have no bearing upon who a person is.
Fixed Order:
Of the FATHER
1 Corinthians 8:6
6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
Through the SON
John 3:17
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
By the HOLY SPIRIT
Ephesians 3:5
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Unto the FATHER
Ephesians 2:18
18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
God’s “oneness” describes His being or essence. all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. love, grace, mercy, righteousness, and justice.
God’s “threeness,” His tri-unity or Trinity, covers His relational aspects. This “threeness” is defined as a “Person.” a tri-personality.
“person” is a living being who possesses will, intellect, and emotion. A person means one who an identity completely distinct from other persons. This deals with subsistence, essence.
It is all a mystery!
1 Corinthians 4:1
Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
God=s existence is assumed
The Trinity C Latin meaning threeness
Tertullian (c. 155‑220) coined the term "Trinity" to describe this early Christian belief that God is a "tri‑unity" (Kroeger, p. 1079).
three Persons does not make God a tri-Being. He is a single being. There are not three Gods, but One. He is of one essence.
As such, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit:
- Are eternal and equal to the other Persons
- Possess the same divine substance or essence
- Are not created in any way
- Are not three separate Gods
- Are not three modes of existence
- Each one is actually God all of the time
No other religion or worldview holds a Trinitarian concept of God.
God is One
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NKJV)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
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Exodus 20:3 (NKJV)
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
Deuteronomy 4:35 (NKJV)
35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.
Deuteronomy 32:39 (NKJV)
39 ‘Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 (NKJV)
4 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
Ephesians 4:6 (NKJV)
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
James 2:19 (NKJV)
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
Three are God
What you need to focus on is that the Bible teaches that
God is one
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God
accept that the Trinity is the truth of the Bible based on faith. This doctrine we call the Trinity is merely a short-hand description to explain how each of these relationships can be God.
Each Person of the Trinity is called God.
God the Father
1 Corinthians 8:6 (NKJV)
6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
epistles refer to “God our/the Father” (Rom 1:7; Gal 1:1; 1 Peter 1:2). Jesus refers to God as “Father” in John 6:27 (see also John 17:1-3).
Jesus, God the Son
John 1:1 (NKJV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. à1:14
Titus 2:13 (NKJV)
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
Romans 9:5 (NKJV)
5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
See also Rev 1:8, 17; 22:13.
God the Holy Spirit
Acts 5:1-4 (NKJV)
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
Three-in-oneness
We must “tie” the three divine Persons together
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NKJV)
4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
This passage refers to the Holy Spirit, Jesus (“the Lord”) and God the Father (“same God”). This is the weakest of the four passages.
2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV)
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
This is one of Paul’s great benedictions and is addressed to all three Persons of the Trinity. Remember, all of these passages must be interpreted against the background verses that God is one. We are seeking a method of explaining the concepts of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit against the clearly stated fact that God is One.
Matthew 3:16-17 (NKJV)
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
The Trinity is present at the baptism of Christ. The voice in heaven is, of course, God the Father.
Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
This is viewed by most as the strongest statement of the Trinity. Note that the list of the three Persons is introduced by the singular “name.”
Distinct roles of each Person
This section uses a single passage to reveal the roles of the three Persons of the Trinity. A search of Scripture will show that each of them participate in God’s Work in the world in various ways. For example, each played a part in the Resurrection of Jesus – the Father (Gal 1:1; Eph 1:20); the Son (John 10:17-18); the Holy Spirit (Rom 1:4; 1 Peter 3:18) – or Creation – the Father (Psalm 19:1); the Son (John 1:3-4); the Holy Spirit (Gen 1:2; Job 33:4).
The role of God the Father:
Ephesians 1:3-6 (NKJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
The role of Jesus the Son:
Ephesians 1:7-12 (NKJV)
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
The role of the Holy Spirit:
Ephesians 1:13-14 (NKJV)
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Practical Implication of the Doctrine of the Trinity
The personal nature of God
The Trinity shows that personality and relations exist in the very essence of God. The Trinity does away with all of the impersonal false teachings about God. In one sweep, Deism and pantheism (the Force of Star Wars, for example) disappear.
The purpose of creation
God the Father is the executive
Jesus the Son is the architect
God the Holy Spirit is the contractor
The unique greatness of God
Isaiah 46:9
For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me
An understanding of proper roles
The Trinity teaches us that one’s role in life, one’s possessions, one place in the organization have no bearing upon who a person is. Each of the Persons of the Godhead is God, but they each have different roles in life and play a different part in God’s relationship with mankind. Consider that it is Jesus Who died on the Cross, while the role of the Holy Spirit is not to celebrate that He, the Holy Spirit, is God; rather the Spirit’s role is to “glorify Me [Jesus], for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14-15 (NKJV)).
At the same time, Jesus, while equal to the Father, acted in submission to the directions of the Father’s Will.
John 4:34 (NKJV)
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
The value of personhood lies in one’s place in God, not in one’s role in life. This is the teaching of the Trinity.
Applying / Practicing the Bible
How do the practical implications of the Trinity relate to life today? Make this personal. Where do you obtain your value? How does this relate to the challenges of your life?