Friday, February 1, 2008

The Trinity

Q: The concept of the Trinity is difficult for me to understand. Can you explain it in simple terms?

A: First, I would say join the club. Trying to understand the Trinity completely is extremely difficult, if not impossible. The Trinity is a mystery on some levels. I don’t believe that we will ever fully understand the Trinity this side of Heaven. However, I do believe...
that God has revealed himself to us in this way. We worship a God that is truly three in one.Hebrews 1:3a says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” The word “being” or person is the English rendering of the Greek word hupostasis {hoop-os'-tas-is}. The sense of the word is best described as “substance.” In other words, The Son is the exact substance of God. This word is significant because it helps us understand the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three are unique yet contain the same substance; hence, three in One.Here’s an example:1. Water is a good example for understanding the substance question. If you freeze water, its still water; it’s just frozen. In a similar way, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are of the same substance, yet distinct.I know there are other examples that might help us understand the Trinity better. I would encourage people to post other examples that they have heard or seen that could possibly be helpful so that we all can learn a little more.The Trinity is one of the unique doctrines of the church that is vital to understanding the God we worship. Christians do not worship three gods. We worship one God who has revealed himself to us in three distinct beings. The Trinity is simple, yet complex all at the same time. However, this is how God has chosen to reveal himself to us, so we must ask for wisdom in order to understand better. Will we fully understand the Trinity in this life? I doubt it. Can we understand it better each day? Absolutely!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have always heard that the trinity is like an egg, it has three parts but without any of them it is not an egg. Each part is separate, the white, the yolk and the shell but only together do they make an egg

Adam Pastor said...

Greetings
May I recommend to you, the following video:

The Human Jesus

It discusses why the doctrine of the trinity "is extremely difficult, if not impossible" to understand;
and challenges the viewer to see what the Scriptures have to say with regard to this doctrine!

Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor

Daniel Taylor said...

Dear Adam Pastor, and all who read this BLOG:

Just because the Trinity is hard to understand, does not mean that it is false or untrue. The video called "The Human Jesus" which Adam placed in his blog comment is an attempt to refute the orthodox claim of the Church concerning our belief in the Trinity. There are several “Christian” groups in the United States that do not believe in the Trinity. The church has rejected their claims as false and labeled them heretics. This video is propaganda for a cult. This group denies the Trinity--period.

They claim to have a “right” interpretation of the Scripture, but disregard thousands of years of church history and biblical exegesis. This group is standing on shaky ground in my opinion.

Blessings,
Daniel Taylor

Anonymous said...

I'm just curious, when you say "the church" are you talking about that whore of babylon, the Roman Catholic Church? Because the Mary-worshipping catholics are far worse than any group who erroniously claims that the trinity doesn't exist.

Daniel Taylor said...

It seems to me that you have an issue with Catholics. Your tone kind of gave you away.

I am really not sure how to respond to your statements. The Church, both Catholic and Protestant, has always believed that the Trinity is true. It is actually one of the defining characteristics of the Christians faith.