BIBLE DOCTRINE

LECTURE 20

THEOLOGY: THE NATURE OF GOD – THE TRINITY

I. THENATUREOFGOD–HISUNITY

A.THEMEANINGOFTHE“UNITY”OFGOD:

Bythiswemeana“unityofessence”—notpersonality. ThefactthatGodisaSpirit(thereforeuncontainable),

andthefactthatHe isomnipresent(everywhere),logicallyprecludestheexistenceofmorethan oneGod.

B.SCRIPTUREDECLARESTHEUNITYOFGOD:

Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

Isa 44:6-8 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

John 10:30 I and my Father are one.

Theword“one”canbeusedinthesenseof“compoundunity.”For example:

1.TwoMayBeOne: Genesis2:24—“Thereforeshallamanleavehisfatherandhismother,and shallcleaveuntohiswife: andtheyshallbeoneflesh.”

2.ManyMayBeOne: Philippians2:2—“Fulfilyemyjoy,thatyebe likeminded,havingthesamelove, beingofoneaccord,ofonemind.”

[The belief that God is a single Being is held by both Muslims and Jews, who insist that Allah and Jehovah are single entities. It is also held by pseudo-Christian cults such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons—and by various aberrant Christian groups who also deny the deity of Christ. Some Pentecostals claim that God is a single Being and that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are God's three "titles" or "offices." Here we have unity without diversity.

The belief that God is a single entity (Unitarianism) and not three Persons existing eternally in one God (Trinitarianism) was first formulated in the early church around a.d. 220 by a Libyan theologian named Sabellius. He attempted to retain biblical language concerning Father, Son and Holy Spirit without acknowledging the triune nature of God. Sabellius claimed that God existed as a single Being who manifested Himself in three activities, modes or aspects: as Father in the creation, as Son in redemption, and as Holy Spirit in prophecy and sanctification. This heresy, though condemned by the vast majority of Christians, survives to this day. (Dave Hunt)]

II. THE NATURE OF GOD – THE TRINITY

A. THE UNITY OF GOD AND THE TRINITY OF GOD CONTRASTED:

Unity: a unity of essence; ONE God! Trinity: a tri-unity of personality; THREE Persons!

The doctrine of the Trinity is one that we can never fully comprehend it is to be believed because that is what the Bible teaches.

[Of course, we know that the word ‘trinity’ does not appear in our KJV Bibles. Maybe a better term would be ‘tri-unity’; maybe ‘the tri-une Godhead’…or ‘tri-theism’. Though, I don’t think it is ‘anti-scriptural’ to use the term trinity.]

B. THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY TAUGHT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:

1. Seen In The “Uni-plural” Name For “God
The Hebrew word translated “God” is “Elohim” which is a plural noun.

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, andover the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
[The Hebrew word elohim (gods) occurs about 2,500 times in the Old Testament, while the singular form occurs only 250 times and most of those designate false gods. (D. Hunt)]

2. Seen In The Appearances Of The Angel Of The Lord
These so-called “Theophanies” are preincarnate manifestations of God (Christ).

Ex 3:2-5 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
[Carefully study Genesis 22:11,12,15,16 and compare with John 8:56,58. See also: Jdg 6:21,22]

3. Seen In The Work Of The Holy Spirit.
For example: Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of
the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

C. THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT:

[There is a plethora of verses supporting the trinity here.]

Matt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Matt 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

1 Cor 12:4-6 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

Acts 5:3-4 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

1 Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

[Jesus stumped the ‘trinity-denying’] Pharisees (Mt 22:41-46) when He asked them who the Messiah was, and they said, "The Son of David." He then quoted Psalm 110:1: "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Then Jesus asked them, "If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?" (Mt 22:45). The Pharisees were speechless. Unitarianism cannot explain these two "Lords". (D. Hunt)]

Note: God’s workings among men (especially in salvation) may be viewed as coming: From the Father; By the Son; Through the Spirit. This is also the case with prayer.

[God the Father is overseeing all; He has given full authority to His Son; and, the Holy Spirit is the Personage of the Godhead who is active right here on Earth.

This word ‘Godhead’ is a significant Biblical term:

Acts 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.]

[In contrast to theos, which is used consistently throughout the New Testament for "God," three different but related Greek words occur in these verses (theios, theiotes, theotes) which the King James translators carefully designated by the special word, Godhead. That very term indicates a plurality of being. (D. Hunt)]

D. OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE TRINITY:

1. The Doctrine Does Not Mean Three Gods

[The Trinity (Tritheism) means “one God…three Persons…the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.]

2. The Bible Teaches Distinct Personalities.
The Father is not the Son; the Son is not the Spirit; etc. See: Hebrews 1:8; John 14:16.

E. ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE TRINITY:

A number of attempts have been made to illustrate what the Bible means by the Trinity. Because such a doctrine is ultimately inexplicable to the human mind, such attempts are often poor, [and will always be] inadequate.
1. The Egg: An egg consists of “shell,” “white,” and “yolk.” This illustration is invalid because each component by itself is not an egg.
2. Human Relationships: I am a man. I am a father to my son. I am a son to my father. Thus I am “3 in I” – a man, a father, a son. This illustration fails because it does not teach three persons, only three relationships and could well be used by cults such as Jehovah’s Witnesses to actually explain away the Trinity.
3. Water H20: This illustration comes closest to the truth. Water can exist in three states solid (ice), liquid, and gas (steam). It can exist in all three states at one time or, under the right conditions, as a single phase entity (totally solid, total gaseous). Whatever the state, it is all the same essence (H20). Ice is H20 whether in the presence of water or vapor, and so forth.

4. [The Sun: The planet would be the Father, the fire would be the Son, and the light and heat would be the Spirit. This is man’s inept attempt to describe God]

F. THE KEY SCRIPTURE ON THE TRINITY:

1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these

three are one.

[This is one of the clearest declarations in the Bible of the trinity, yet] we are told it shouldn’t be in the Bible to begin with! e.g. The Scofield Reference Bible has a marginal note: “It is generally agreed that v.7 has no real authority, and has been inserted.” All modern translations either omit the verse or, like the RSV and the NASB deceitfully divide verse 6 to create a verse 7. This passage is referred to as the “Johannine Comma”, [and might be the most debated passage in the Bible by ‘Higher Critics’.]

[It is a mystery how God can exist in three Persons yet be one God; but it is also a mystery how God could have no beginning and create everything out of nothing. We can't understand what a human soul or spirit is. Nor can we explain love or beauty or justice. It is beyond human capacity to comprehend the full nature of God's being. But neither can we understand what it means for us or anything else to exist—nor can we comprehend what space is or what time is or matter is. For every door science opens, there are ten more unopened doors beyond. The more we learn, the more rapidly the unknown expands before us like receding images in a hall of mirrors. (D. Hunt)]

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