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1. THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF THE TRIUNE GOD (TRINITY)
Undeniably, the doctrine about God is beyond human comprehension. But thank God, incomprehensible as He is, yet He has revealed Himself to the person of Jesus Christ. In fact, there are three persons in the Godhead, that’s why we have the word “Trinity.” So the question comes, “where did we get the term ‘Trinity’?” Well, it is not literally in the Bible but it can be proven to be a Biblical truth. Obviously, it is composed of two words: “Tri” which means three, like “tricycle” meaning three wheels, and “nity” coming from the word “Divinity” or “Deity,” a word that pertains only to God. The Triune God then means the unity of three Persons in the Godhead. Thus we say, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Three in One! Judaism and Christianity believe in this One God that the Bible speaks of. This belief of one God is called “monotheism”. “Mono” means one or only, “theism” comes from the Greek word Theo, which means God, hence, monotheism means, “the belief of one God.”
Interestingly, the belief of the Triune God is what makes the Christian religion different from the polytheistic religion of the rest of mankind. (“Poly” means many, so polytheism is the belief of many gods). Despite of our limited understanding about God, our knowledge has been enhanced through the self disclosure of His Son Jesus Christ. When He came and dwelt among us as the “express image of the Invisible God” (Colossians 1:15, 16), Jesus said to Philip, “He that hath seen me has seen the Father…” (John 14:9). Man have seen the glory of God through His Son “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Amazingly Jesus Himself was called “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1), “who is called Christ” in verse 16b. “God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by who also He made the worlds.” Hebrews 1:1-3.
When I was a small boy attending an Adventist Christian school, I am always baffled of the thought about the three Persons in the Godhead making up the ONE TRUE GOD of the Christians. “How come that three persons are equal to one, that could not be,” I reasoned out. But since the Bible says the Three are One (1John 5:7, 8 KJV), then I must have to subject my belief to what God says. In fact, it is not more of understanding the Trinity as it is in believing what the Bible says about the Three Persons in the Godhead. For if we understand God fully then He ceases to be God! So let us not attempt to understand all the things of God and about the different Persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three in one! Paul speaking of the wisdom and ways of God exclaims,“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33. Mind-boggling and so unfathomable!
But thank God although we cannot understand all the wisdom and ways of God we can still believe in Him. It is like the different animals that went inside the ark of Noah. I could not understand how it happened since they devour each other in the wild life but the Bible says that they went inside the ark and I’d rather believe it. So with regards to the Trinity I believe what the Bible says for the Bible can be trusted. The word “God” in the Hebrew tongue was first used as “Elohim” and it is a collective noun, like the word “family.” A family may be made up of three or five persons but just one family, like your family. That’s the same with the word Elohim, it is composed of three Persons but is ONE God. Such is the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (See the picture illustration below: three strands of the rope but still one rope).
It is true that the Bible speaks of mysteries. The greatest of these is the mystery of the Trinity- the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is a mystery, like the mysterious blending of man and woman into ONE FLESH in marriage. (See Illustration of husband and wife. They are two persons but ONE flesh.) The Bible says, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:31, 32). If the Bible calls the man and woman as One flesh in marriage and is a mystery then greater is the mystery of the Godhead! We cannot understand but thank God we can believe it. Believe in God, believe in Jesus and believe in the Holy Spirit. These Three make ONE GOD!
ILLUSTRATION:
H O H
L L U
S Y S
O S B W
N P A I
______I N F F
D ___ R D E
I
___ T
F A T H E R C H I L D R E N
The TRIANGLE on the left is an illustration of the unity of the Triune God. But it is still a faint picture though of the Trinity because the line where the word Son is cannot be a triangle by itself as well as where the words, Father and Holy Spirit are. However, that’s not the case with the Trinity, for the Father is God (1 Corinthians 1:3), Jesus is God (John 1:1), and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3, 4). These three Persons are united in the Godhead making one God. So we may call them the One Triune God or the Trinity as the Bible clearly suggests.
The TRIANGLE on the right is an illustration of your family. Your family is made up of a Husband (dad), a Wife (mom) and Children. Although it’s made up of three or more persons, it’s still One Family. Such is the Triune God made up of three Persons but it is still ONE GOD!
The fact of the matter my friend, is we cannot really understand God, hence the Trinity in our own human understanding. But praise God we can have the capacity and the privilege to believe on these Three Persons as the members of the Trinity, making up the One True God. Faith is the most important thing and that’s what we need to believe in the Trinity. What matters most is that these Three Persons are united in our salvation from eternal death in Hellfire.
(Let me illustrate the Three Persons of the Godhead in mathematical terms by using the following equation):
What mathematical operation: (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division) would you use in order to arrive with the given answers THREE [3]; TWO [2], and ONE [1] below? Observe the mathematical symbols used in each question and follow the mathematical operation you will use, with the TRINITY in mind:
I) 1 and 1 and 1 = 3 (The mathematical operation used here is addition. So
that the mathematical equation would be: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
II) 1 and 1 and 1 = 2 (Again the operation we use in order to get the given answer two
[2])? No doubt, is addition and subtraction and
Thus, 1 + 1 - 1 = 2.
III) 1 and 1 and 1 = 1 (What’s the logical mathematical operation?) It is clear that we will use
the operation by multiplication. Therefore, 1 x 1 x 1 = 1
The No. III arithmetical operation is like the Trinity. Although they are three persons (like the three ones above in No. III), the Bible says these THREE are equal to ONE [1] (that’s the given answer). Then we follow the operation of FAITH to believe what the Bible says and not question about it, like the arithmetical figures above. We don’t question the given answers. We solve the given answer by using the appropriate mathematical operation.
It’s the same with the given answer about the Trinity. We don’t question the Bible either! If it says the given answer is ONE GOD in Three Persons then our God is One God. We use the operation of FAITH. With faith we can settle the mystery behind the Trinity and when we will get to heaven we will know things that we cannot know here on this earth including the doctrine about the Trinity. Here we see darkly as a glass but when we will get to heaven we will know Him without a veil in between for it will be face to face with God ( 1 Corinthians 13: 12. Then and only then will our faith be sight!
We will see God as He is. See you there someday, my friend.
STORY
A teacher was telling his class that the Bible is not really true. Even the God Christian speaks about, don’t ever believe on those foolishness. The Bible stories are fiction. One boy in the class asked the teacher, “so you mean sir you don’t believe that the animals went inside the ark of Noah?” “Yes,” said the teacher. “How about the falling of manna for the Israelites food in the wilderness?” asked again the boy. The teacher said, “I don’t believe on those silly stuff of the Christian Bible.” Desperately, the boy said boldly to his teacher, “even though you don’t believe sir, I trust that every Bible story is true, “I believe that David killed the giant Goliath, I believe that King Hezekiah was healed from his sickness, I believe that Jonah was swallowed by a big fish and when I get to heaven I will ask Jonah.”
Thereupon, the teacher replied, “how about if Jonah will not be in heaven.” “Then ask him for surely he will be in hell if he would not be in heaven.
The lesson then is clear whatever things we cannot understand here on this earth, that we can ask from God himself when we’ll get to heaven. We will have eternity to understand all the mysteries in this life including the Trinity! It’s an incentive to get to heaven. Do you think so?
BIBLE STUDY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TRINITY
1. What is the mystery that the Bible speaks of ? 1 Timothy 3:16
The Mystery of G___ D___ I ___ E ___ S
2. Who is the power and the wisdom of God ? 1 Corinthians 1:24
J___ S ___ S C______
3. Can a man/woman (boy/girl) understand the wisdom of God ? Romans 11:33
N___, for it is unsearchable and fast F ___ ND ___ NG out!
4. Why do we say that there is but ONE GOD in three Persons ? Genesis 1:26
Because at creation God says “Let ___ S…”
5. Would it be possible that God was speaking with the angels when He said, “Let us make man in
our own image..” ? Colossians 1:13-17
___ O, because instead of angels, it’s J___ S ___ S that is included in the word “US”
6. Who else was involved during creation week, as included in the word “us” of Genesis ? Genesis 1:2
The S ___ I R ___ T of God
7. What was the incident in the life of Jesus that we can see the different Persons of the Godhead as
three separate Beings ? Matthew 3: 13-17
His B___ P T ___ S M
8. By whom did Jesus commanded the disciples to baptize with in the preaching of the Gospel ?
Matthew 28:19
Name of the F______, Son, and H ___ L ___ SP __ R __ T
9. In Paul’s writings, who are spoken of in the Apostle’s Benediction ? 2 Corinthians 13:14
Lord J______C______, and the Love of G__ D, and the communion
of the H______GH ___ S ___.
10. When Jesus returned back to His Father in heaven, who was given as the Comforter ?
John 14: 16-17
H______S__ I R __ T
NOTE: Each Person in the Godhead has a distinct and separate personality from one another. All three have the same substance, essence, nature, and character of the Deity. This means that if one is eternal, everyone is eternal and so forth and so on. One of them however, subjected Himself to the nature of man and that is, Jesus Christ but He was sinless in His human nature (I Peter 2:21, 22; Hebrews 4:14, 15). It was a mysterious blending of the Divine and human natures, all for our sake. He now intercedes for us as our High Priest in heaven if (per chance) we stumble in sin (Hebrews 4:14-16 cf. 1John 2:1; 1 John 1:9). He knows our weaknesses and understands them but it is not our license to do what is sinful before His sight. We must overcome our sinful tendencies in His power. (Philippians 4:13; Revelation 3:20,21).
PERSONAL QUESTIONS:
Do you believe in the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ? ______
Do you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and Lord ? ______
The Holy Spirit is God’s Representative now that Jesus is back in heaven, do you like to ask Him to come into your heart today ? ______
Would you like to live a good and a holy life in the power of God ? ______
Would you thank the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in their united effort to save you? ______
PERSONAL PRAYER
Dear God, I am born a sinner but I thank You for giving to me Jesus Christ who died for my sins. Now I am forgiven and saved from my sins. Help me to follow your will. Let your Holy Spirit come into my heart so that I can live a godly character in Jesus. In His name I pray Amen.
Signed: ______Date: ______
2. THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF THE ORIGIN OF SIN
The original plan of God for man is to live in perfect peace and harmony in the Presence of God. His plan for mankind is to enjoy the heavenly bliss in the company of angelic beings in an atmosphere of love and joy. God put a Paradise in the Garden of Eden, the dwelling place of the first couple, Adam and Eve. The aroma of the air was not tainted at all with any pollutants that will destroy man’s physical well-being. The verdant grass that rolled down the meadows, hills and valleys served as the carpet where they can lie down and inhale the health giving foliage of trees and perfumed with the fragrance of everlasting flowers dancing before the bright and therapeutic rays of the sun. Everything in land, air and space were perfectly working together for the benefit of Adam and Eve. All creatures speaks that God is love!