I am sometimes asked why I believe in the Trinity when the word, "trinity" does not appear in the Bible. A fair question, although not necessarily well thought out. After all I believe a lot of things that are stated or implied in the Bible without having terms or doctrines noted for them in the actual scriptures.
For instance, I believe that God is omnipresent, though that word or that concept is not to my knowledge specifically stated. "The eyes of the Lord are in every place watching the evil and the good," Proverbs 15:3, comes close, but just says God sees everywhere, not that he is everywhere.
The concept of three persons in one Godhead is an inevitable conclusion of reading the Bible. When taken together, the clear sense is that three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God. Deuteronomy 6:6 is clear enough, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one." So we only have one God.
Because the Bible does not contradict itself--never does, when we see the Spirit descending like a dove on Jesus at his baptism while the voice of the Father declares from heaven, "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," we don't initially have a problem. Maybe Jesus and the Holy Spirit aren't really God or fully God, then we can maintain our "one God" theory and keep the inerrancy of Scripture.
However, the New Testament is clear that both Jesus (John 10:30) and the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4,9) are fully and interchangeably God. So we believe on faith that God is one God, manifesting himself in three persons.
Recently, "Weighed and Wanting" (Not terms to describe himself, but those he opposes--don't want to think I'm belittling anyone) asked the following question on this blog:
ReplyDeleteNow, based on the trinity view, could Jesus be alone and forsaken? I read something yesterday that seemed to demand that he had all power in his earth walk and just chose not to use it. I see a lot of scriptures to the contrary. But could the trinity be split up for a time?
Two things to say in the affirmative on both points:
1. Yes, Jesus chose not to use his power as God. Php. 2 talks about how he humbled himself to become a man. He could have summoned 12 legions of angels to rescue him from the cross (Matt. 26:53). Jesus did not know the day or hour of his return while he was on earth. (Mark 13:32). So Jesus chose limitations while here on earth. He needed sleep, ate food, etc., things God has no need of.
2. Yes, the Trinity, properly understood, is "split up," not together in one place. That is the beauty of three distinct persons. Jesus left the earth, but sent the Spirit. God hid his face from Jesus on the cross when He became sin for us. The three can occupy different places, communicate and have fellowship with one another. Think of eternity past if God were only one person. Yet, when God creates man he is very mindful that Adam is alone, even after creating all the animals. He realizes there is no one for Adam that is flesh of his flesh. I think God thought of his own fellowship with the Spirit and the Son, even though he had the created angels. (Just my own thought).
W&W,
Your misunderstanding may come from not fully embracing the equal truths of God's unity on the one hand, and three distinct persons on the other. Each truth is clearly expounded in Scripture and cannot be denied. We must embrace both by faith and not lean on our own understanding.
Though analogies exist, I don't think any analogy captures the wonder of the truth the Spirit reveals in the unity of the Word.
Paul
Paul,
ReplyDeleteCould I ask, do you regard one who doesn't uphold the Trinity doctrine as a brother?
Gary
@Gary: One need not know the particulars of the doctrine of the Trinity at all to be saved. It is essential to know that Jesus is Lord and God.
ReplyDelete