You Opinions on the Trinity???

My opinion? I'm all for the Trinity. Yeah, trinity=good stuff, I say.

 

:laugh:

Father-Planner
Son-Saviour
Holy Spirit-Teacher

 

separate tasks but all one.

 

Done a whole treatise on it. My first completed writing project.
http://members.aol.com/etb700/triune.html

 

same

The "Trinity" is a word we use to describe the triune nature of God. I personally feel that the normal way that the doctrine is articulated, or explained, is pretty much the best way to describe Gods triune nature.

Some people turn it into sort of an idol in that if someone else doesnt use the word "Trinity", or if they describe the triune nature of God differently than they do, then they automatically label that person lost and a cultist.

I believe that is going beyond scripture, and is error. If someone, or a group, denies that the Father is God, or that Jesus Christ is God, or that the Holy Spirit is God, then we have a problem.

As an example, I consider the Jehovahs Witnesses a false christian cult as they deny that Jesus Christ is God. I dont have the same view of the "oneness" pentecostals, as they acknowledge that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are God, but they dont believe that the triune nature of God "works" the same way we do. They believe the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and are all the one God, manifesting Himself in 3 different ways.

I believe they are in error, but I consider them to be christians.

God bless,

Mike

 

Human analogies fail in trying to explain the Trinity, but one that stuck out in my mind was the example of Laura Bush. She's the First Lady...she's a mother...and she's a wife. Three distinct roles, one person. George Bush wouldn't address her for mother issues, her children wouldn't address her for first lady issues, and Cheney wouldn't address her on marital issues.

 

Hi, TaliOrlando..... You are husband, father, son, cousin, uncle, grandson, nephew, and so on, still one guy. God is indeed God in Three Persons, separate and distinct, unique, yet a unity, each equal in the Godhead. Without fear of being branded a modalist, I must say that our perception of God's manifestation is usually clouded by the mind ~ our own failure to spiritually dig deeply into God's Word. Notice that it is God's Word, not "Trinity's Word." If memory serves correctly, there are around 700 references to The Trinity in the OT, and 54 in the NT, without ever using that word.

 

I believe in the Trinity, The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost

When I was younger I had problems understanding - I was told to take it on faith and some things are beyond understanding until we go home

What I could not get past is that if they are one then why did Jesus pray to God and why is the only way to God through the Son. If they are one and the same then my mind was asking why is He praying to himself and why would He say to be with God is through the Son


The Holy Spirit I got, Jesus resurrected

How would you answer this?

 

Luke 10:21
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure."

The Bible says that Jesus is God in flesh. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.....and the word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1,14). Jesus, therefore, has two natures. He is both God and human with all the human traits, yet without sin.

Jesus is man, yet also divine.

As a man, Jesus needed to pray. When He was praying he was not praying to Himself, but to God, the Spiritual Father.

Jesus came to us to reveal to us the plan of salvation, first to the Jew, and then, through Paul, to the Gentile. His message is to us. We respond to Him and His message by praying to the Father in the Name of Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, just as He did in Luke 10:21.

 

So then, to answer someone I should say Jesus is the Word of God in flesh and the Word, which is Jesus, is thanking God for His Wisdom of keeping them from the wise and yet children see Him because they do not have the knowledge of the world to clutter there minds.

Does this make sense?

Thank you by the way :flower:

 

Jesus, the man, humbling himself before God, thanks God for His Divine Wisdom, wherein He shared the Good News with the common folk, through Jesus, rather than having it preached "at" them by the Jewish leaders of that day. The common folk, their hearts open and receptive to the Good News, saw in Jesus someone entirely different from the clutter provided by the theologians of that day. Eventually, the common folk among the Gentiles heard the same Good News, not from one in priestly robes, or from a King, or a Roman soldier, but from One in sandals, walking dusty roads. Eventually, His followers became so many that He could be sought out by just following the dust cloud!!

 

Not to take this in a joking manner because I am not but I was just thinking that the next time I dust I will be thinking of Jesus walking along while preaching.

Dust bunnies beware :tongue3:

Cleanliness is next to Godliness, at least that is what my mother told me :flower:

Thank you so much for talking with me on this!

 

"Trinity" is a logical construct, the best that could be done with conflicting texts. I don't trust anyone who claims to understand it.

 

Webdog, this is actually the kind of analogy used for modalism: One God with 3 roles. That's not the Trinity.

The Trinity is 3 co-eternal co-equal Persons in the one Godhead. God is one but that does not mean one being. Although there is no totally accurate analogy for this, and it's somewhat beyond our understanding, I don't think it's so difficult that we can't desribe it to a certain extent, and denying it is a heresy.

 

Whether anyone claims to understand it or not should not keep us from recognizing that denial of the Trinity is against the Bible. One can show the Trinity from many passages in the Bible.

I am somewhat shocked at the responses here - it's as though Christians don't think the Trinity is important or that it's okay to be Oneness (denial of the Trinity).

If Oneness is true, then Jesus was praying to himself all those times he was praying to the Father, and when the HS came down when Jesus was baptized, that was just an illusion. And every time Jesus said "My Father" (which is quite often, look it up), then he was lying, because if Jesus is the Father, then he can't honestly make such a statement. And also, Oneness makes a liar out of all the passages in God's word that teach the Trinity.

Christians these days seem afraid to assert the doctrines that many died for. Either we stand on the word of God or we undermine the authority and power of scripture.

 

How would you explain it to a Non Chritian or even a fellow Christian?

 

Well, I did sort of explain it in the post above somewhere. :smilewinkgrin:

I have to answer questions like this in my ministry a lot - I basically say what I myself learned from other believers.

The Trinity is 3 co-equal, co-eternal Persons in one Godhead. It is not Persons the way you and I are a person (human being) but that is the best term to use. I've heard it said that the Trinity is one what with 3 who's (Norman Geisler says this). The Trinity is part of the mystery of God's being - if we could totally understand God we would have to be God! So it should not be disturbing that we cannot totally grasp the Trinity. What is essential to grasp is that Scripture is clear on it and teaches that there are 3 distinct Persons who are all God but all one in the Godhead.

Here are some good basic links on the Trinity:
http://www.carm.org/doctrine/whatisthetrinity.htm

http://www.carm.org/doctrine/trinity.htm

http://www.carm.org/doctrine/trinityquotes.htm

 

Thank you, me being hard headed and still not quite sure on how to answer my friend. I tell her "It Just Is" does not work :smilewinkgrin:

When she comes back with, "If they are one Godhead then why pray to yourself?"

How do I answer that? I like the one answer you gave me "The Trinity is part of the mystery of God's being - if we could totally understand God we would have to be God!"

How do you talk with a doubting Thomas who wants to understand with there eyes, faith she does not have.

 

I am a strict Trinitarian monotheist ever since I became a Christian. Days of Praise has two good articles about the Trinity:

http://www.icr.org/articles/print/2732/

http://www.icr.org/articles/print/18119/

One of the reasons (though not the only reason) I joined the Lutheran Church is because they use the Athanasian Creed. Part of it is recited each Trinity Sunday. Here it is: http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/athanasn.htm

Here it is in German:

http://mb-soft.com/believe/tgh/athanas.htm

raise: