Omniscience Omnipotence And Omnipresence Of The Persons Of The Trinity
Since each member of the Trinity is God, each member is equally omniscience, omnipotent and omnipresent. Jesus came to earth fully aware of the task that lay ahead of Him on the cross. God was never surprised by what had to happen. The Holy Spirit already knows exactly who He will indwell. God is everywhere and with all His children as well as seated on His throne in heaven. All of this is possible because He is God.
37. John 10:30 I and the Father are one.
38. Hebrews 7:24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.
39. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 However, as it is written: What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
40. Jeremiah 23:23-24 Am I only a God nearby, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? declares the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.
41. Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
43. Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Is The Trinity Biblical
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Is the doctrine of the Trinity biblical? Well, that depends on what you mean when you say biblical. Does the Bible anywhere contain anything like the Nicene Creed? No. Does the Bible anywhere present a systematic statement of the doctrine of the Trinity using technical theological terms such as homoousios or hypostasis? No. So, if this is what is required in order for the doctrine of the Trinity to be biblical, then no, the doctrine isnt biblical. But this is not what is required for a doctrine to be biblical.
The Westminster Confession of Faith explains, The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, mans salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture . The doctrine of the Trinity is not expressly set down in Scripture in the technical sense described above, but it is certainly a good and necessary consequence of what is expressly set down in Scripture. So, what does Scripture expressly teach?
So, is the doctrine of the Trinity biblical? Beyond a doubt.
Hidden Presence In The Old Testament
We begin with the larger question of how the Trinity is present in the Old Testament. According to Lutheran theologian Johann Gerhard, the Trinity is present in Genesis 1 in a manner of revelation appropriate to that time.
The self-revelation of the Trinity in Scripture unfolds according to a twofold economy. There is that which comes before Jesuss appearance in the flesh and that which comes after Jesuss appearance in the flesh . The contrast between these two forms of revelation is not absolute. Its not that the Trinity is absent in the Old Testament and present in the New Testament. The contrast is relative. Both testaments are modes of the Trinitys presence, but they are different modes of the Trinitys presence. The Trinity is hidden in the Old Testament and manifest in the New.
The presence of the Trinity in the Old Testament, like a treasure hidden in a field , is a hidden presence, one we can only fully appreciate in light of the Trinitys manifest presence in the New.
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All Three Persons Of The Trinity Are Omnipresent
Omnipresence means that God is everywhere at all times. This is demonstrated through the Trinity. This is not pantheism. God is everywhere, but He is very distinct. Even Jesus, due to His divine nature is omnipresent.
Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all that I commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Jeremiah 23:24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.
Psalm 139:7-10 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
God In The New Testament
While the developed doctrine of the Trinity is not explicit in the books that constitute the New Testament, the New Testament contains a number of Trinitarian formulas, including Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:13, 1 Corinthians 12:4-5, Ephesians 4:4-6, 1 Peter 1:2 and Revelation 1:4-5. Reflection by early Christians on passages such as the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” and Paul the Apostle‘s blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”, leading theologians across history in attempting to articulate the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Eventually, the diverse references to God, Jesus, and the Spirit found in the New Testament were brought together to form the doctrine of the Trinityone Godhead subsisting in three persons and one substance. The doctrine of the Trinity was used to oppose alternative views of how the three are related and to defend the church against charges of worshiping two or three gods.
The Comma Johanneum, which most scholars agree to be a textual gloss and not part of the original text reads: “Because there are three in Heaven that testify the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit and these three are one.”
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Each Member Of The Godhead Is Identified As God
Over and over in Scripture we can see that each member of the Trinity is referred to as God. Each distinct Person of the Godhead is his own distinct Person, yet He is One in essence or being. God the Father is called God. Jesus Christ the Son is called God. The Holy Spirit is also called God. None is more God than the other. They all are equally God yet function in their own unique roles. Having different roles does not make us any less valuable or worthy.
31.2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
32.2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
33. Colossians 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.
34. Romans 4:17 That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, I have made you the father of many nations. This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
35. Romans 4:18 Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hopingbelieving that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, Thats how many descendants you will have!
Explaining The Trinity: Know Your Limits
Just like theres no perfect way to understand the Trinity, theres no perfect way to explain it. Every analogy or image we come up with is going to have some flaw. Thats OK, but its important to know what the flaw is.
You may have heard Sunday School teachers comparing the Trinity to things like eggs, the three states of water , and so forth. Those can help a little, but they all imply the persons of the Trinity are three things from each other completely or the same person changing jobs in some way. Thats a mistake called modalism, which isnt what the Bible teaches.
A somewhat more useful analogy is the relationship between your mind, your ideas, and your words. To some extent, each of those is you, but they each play different roles in different contexts. They cant be separated, but they arent exactly the same, without distinction. Where this analogy breaks down is in how the mind, ideas, and words interact they dont have the kind of perfect yet autonomous coordination we see in the Trinity.
Like it or not, a key part of trying to explain or understand the Trinity is knowing we can only get so close to perfection. Even a genius kindergartener could never master the intricacies of social media marketing, and the most astute grasshopper could never play Fortnite or talk strategy for the game. Of course, if you happen to see a little green insect doing the floss, let us know, and we can update this article.
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Economic And Immanent Trinity
The term “immanent Trinity” focuses on who God is the term economic Trinity focuses on what God does. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
The Fathers of the Church distinguish between theology and economy . “Theology” refers to the mystery of God’s inmost life within the Blessed Trinity and “economy” to all the works by which God reveals himself and communicates his life. Through the oikonomia the theologia is revealed to us but conversely, the theologia illuminates the whole oikonomia. God’s works reveal who he is in himself the mystery of his inmost being enlightens our understanding of all his works. So it is, analogously, among human persons. A person discloses himself in his actions, and the better we know a person, the better we understand his actions.
The ancient Nicene theologians argued that everything the Trinity does is done by Father, Son, and Spirit working in unity with one will. The three persons of the Trinity always work inseparably, for their work is always the work of the one God. The Son’s will cannot be different from the Father’s because it is the Father’s. They have but one will as they have but one being. Otherwise they would not be one God. On this point St. Basil said:
The Work Of The Trinity In Salvation
Each member of the Trinity is involved in our salvation. Richard Phillips of Ligonier said The Holy Spirit regenerates precisely the people for whom Jesus offered His atoning death. The Fathers purpose in redeeming people was predestined before time began. Jesuss death on the cross was the only suitable payment to redeem us from our sin. And the Holy Spirit indwells believers to seal them so that their salvation will be lasting.
47.1 Peter 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to Gods elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
48.2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
49.Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
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The Truth About The Father The Son And The Holy Spirit
PEOPLE who believe the Trinity teaching say that God consists of three personsthe Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each of these three persons is said to be equal to the others, almighty, and without beginning. According to the Trinity doctrine, therefore, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, yet there is only one God.
Many who believe the Trinity admit that they are not able to explain this teaching. Still, they may feel that it is taught in the Bible. It is worth noting that the word Trinity never occurs in the Bible. But is the idea of a Trinity found there? To answer this question, let us look at a scripture that supporters often cite to uphold the Trinity.
Holy Spirit In The New Testament
Prior Jewish theology held that the Spirit is merely the divine presence of God himself, whereas orthodox Christian theology holds that the Holy Spirit is a distinct person of God himself. This development begins early in the New Testament, as the Spirit of God receives much more emphasis and description comparably than it had in earlier Jewish writing. Whereas there are 75 references to the Spirit within the Old Testament and 35 identified in the non-biblical Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament, despite its significantly shorter length, mentions the Spirit 275 times. In addition to its larger emphasis and importance placed on the Spirit in the New Testament, the Spirit is also described in much more personalized and individualized terms than earlier.Larry Hurtado writes
In the New Testament, the Spirit is not portrayed as the recipient of cultic devotion, which instead, is typically offered to God and to the risen/glorified Jesus. Although what became mainstream Christianity subsequently affirmed the propriety of including the Spirit as the recipient of worship as reflected in the developed form of the Nicene Creed, perhaps the closest to this in the New Testament is in Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 which describe the Spirit as the subject of religious ritual.
Holy Spirit in later Christian theology
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What Does The Bible Say About The Trinity
It is impossible to be a Christian without having a Biblical understanding of the Trinity. This truth is found throughout Scripture and was solidified at the First Ecumenical Counsel of the early church. It was from that counsel meeting that the Athenasian Creed was developed. If you are worshipping a God who is not the God of the Biblical Trinity, then you are not worshipping the One True God of the Bible.
A Simple Way To Explain The Trinity
I recently had some of my kids friends ask me What is the Trinity? Is God the same as Jesus? These questions are always asked by someone who is exploring faith in Jesus. After all, theyre good questions. And confusing ones. God the Father. God the Son. God the Holy Spirit. One God? Hmmm
Most Christians are puzzled by the Trinity, and therefore, cant explain it very well. Lets change that!
In all transparency, I feel like I did a pretty mediocre job of explaining the Trinity to them in a way they could grasp. Ive been thinking about it a lot, doing some research to see how people smarter than I have explained the Trinity, and come to a better understanding of the Trinity and how to explain the Trinity in simpler terms.
One of the problems is that most of us myself included are tempted to move too quickly to analogies that only help explain aspects of the Trinity. So, rather than starting there, heres where were headed:
- My Starting Point for Trying to Explain the Trinity
- The Simplest but Still Clear Explanation for the Trinity
- 3 Helpful Videos
- The 3 Most Common Trinity Analogies
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How Is The Trinity Explained In The Bible
It is rooted in the fact that God came to meet Christians in a threefold figure: as Creator, Lord of the history of salvation, Father, and Judge, as revealed in the Old Testament as the Lord who, in the incarnated figure of Jesus Christ, lived among human beings and was present in their midst as the
Jesus In The New Testament
In the Pauline epistles, the public, collective devotional patterns towards Jesus in the early Christian community are reflective of Paul’s perspective on the divine status of Jesus in what scholars have termed a “binitarian” pattern or shape of devotional practice in the New Testament, in which “God” and Jesus are thematized and invoked.
The Gospel of John has been seen as especially aimed at emphasizing Jesus’ divinity, presenting Jesus as the Logos, pre-existent and divine, from its first words: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” . The Gospel of John ends with Thomas’s declaration that he believed Jesus was God, “My Lord and my God!” . There is no significant tendency among modern scholars to deny that John 1:1 and John 20:28 identify Jesus with God. John also portrays Jesus as the agent of creation of the universe.
Jesus in later Christian theology
Some have suggested that John presents a hierarchy when he quotes Jesus as saying, “The Father is greater than I”, a statement which was appealed to by nontrinitarian groups such as Arianism. However, Church Fathers such as and Thomas Aquinas argued this statement was to be understood as Jesus speaking about his human nature.
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