how to explain the trinity to a new believer how to explain the trinity to a new believer

We baptize into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. He sent Jesus to save us and then completed our salvation through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Eph. The word "trinity" cannot be found in the Bible, but the truth is that the three of them have been there together all the way along. If there is one passage which most clearly brings all of this together, it is Matthew 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. First, notice that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinguished as distinct Persons. For example, since the Father sent the Son into the world (John 3:16), He cannot be the same person as the Son. 3:17), Omnipresence (Ps. They have eternally (John 17:5, 24) sought to glorify each other (Phil. be explained away. Conclusion: Scripture supports the Trinity. God is not one person who plays three different roles, as this illustration suggests. Gods One-ness is his One divine essence, 3. With input from her father, fart followed within a day or two, and I was horrified, but also excited that she mysteriously managed an r-controlled vowel without any explicit instruction. God the Father, Jesus His Son, with the Holy Spirit, they are three in one! But a common question arises: How do the members of the Trinity differ from one another?. And all three members of the Trinity were involved. 8:6), Jesus is called God (John 1:1-5; John 20:28; Rom. 2:18). He is the only God that exists. Essence and person are not the same thing. Helping students know Jesus, grow in their faith and go to the world to tell others. Jesus dying on the Cross is one of the most important parts of His story. As I said earlier, it means the same thing as being. 8:1417). 2:10), knows (1 Cor. But that doesn't mean the concept isn't clearly taught. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do not unite people by neglecting t Then, ask them to write words on the poster that make up the character of God. OksoWhat about this idea of one being who exists in three persons?. The verb for created isbara. For I am God, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:21-22; see also 44:6-8; Exodus 15:11; Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:4-5; 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:2; 1 Kings 8:60). Use the links below to jump to a specific section: The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The prologue of the Gospel of John has the strongest argument for the Trinity. He brings all light and life to the world. Three parts in one, yet all very much an egg. 119; Prov. While not a typical conversation starter, this question is one of the most important we can ask in life. The Holy Spirit is God, but He is not the Son or the Father. The Father sent Jesus into the world (John 3:16; Gal. 2:34; Heb. The concept of the Trinity is often referred to during worship, which helps Christians to understand it. More posts you may like r/TrueChristian The three members of the unholy trinity are Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet. Third, notice that although the three divine Persons are distinct, we are baptized into their name (singular), not names (plural). The wordtrinitymeans tri-unity or three-in-oneness.. Why not plan on studying verses in each section to prove to yourself that the Bible does claim that God is a Trinity? Striving to see Christ-followers on every team, in every sport and in every nation. John 1 tells us that the Word is Yeshua - that he was with God and was God from the get go, right there at creation. Everything in Christian theology and in the believer's life finally comes back to who God is: the divine nature, the persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These verses make it impossible to deny their individuality and deity. The Trinity is first of all important because God is important. Did your kids give each form of God different personality traits? There are three Persons with one divine essence! The doctrine of the Trinity states that God exists as one God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. God the Holy Spirit is the warmth you feel from the sun. The divine essence is thus not something that exists above or separate from the three Persons, but the divine essence is the being of the three Persons. Lets do a quick review of the topics we have covered. The doctrine of the Trinity is considered to be one of the central Christian affirmations about God. My passion is helping you not just read and study the Bible, but truly enjoy it! Bringing hope and resources to military families worldwide. Answer. The idea that God is somehow three and one starts onPage 1and never changes. God is one in a certain way (essence) and three in a different way (person). 28:18-20; 2 Cor. How could we? Read Books About The Trinity. Hes the one who walked the Earth blamelessly, performing miracles, and extending mercy and love. OrThe person were explaining it to will think that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are only parts of God (egg and sun). If we were to translate it . 32:39), Has personal traits, such as the ability to communicate (John 14:31), He has intellect (John 2:25), emotions (John 11:35), and a will (John 6:38), Has intellect (John 14:26; 1 Cor. In the baptism of Jesus, we see the Father speaking from heaven and the Spirit descending from heaven in the form of a dove as Jesus comes out of the water (Mark 1:10-11). God the Father sent God the Holy Spirit to conceive Jesus (God the Son) in the virgin Marys womb (Matt. Why? Lets start with the geometric figure of the triangle itself. The personhood of each member of the Trinity means that each Person has a distinct center of consciousness. Christ through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God.. One illustration to beware of is the one which says, I am one person, but I am a student, son, and brother. Is God the same as Jesus? In this case, "immanent" means "the action remaining within an agent.". 40:18; Rom. Jesus (the Son) is God. A Christian would still be expected to understand it. Just as ONE egg has THREE different parts - the shell, the white, the yoke - ONE God has THREE different . But its not a mystery that can or should! Those centuries were t There are many illustrations which have been offered to help us understand the Trinity. Sproul cites as an example Dickens famous line, It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Obviously this is a contradiction if Dickens means that it was the best of times in the same way that it was the worst of times. The Son and Holy Spirit are equal in deity to the Father. 20:3; cf. Amongst other books, I have read 'The Forgotten Trinity" by James White, but remain unconvinced that acceptance of or belief in the confusing doctrine of the trinity is essential for Salvation. Geisler, N. L., and R. E MacKenzie, R. E. Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: agreements and differences. As long as a shape has those three angles that add up to 180 degrees, it doesnt matter what the angles degrees are. The Son is the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. (Heavy sigh.) 20:23; Deut. Both the New Testament and Old Testament testify that there is only one God: Unfortunately, we cannot go through each of these passages in detail. Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine, and Jerome mention it. We are referring to two different features of God: (1) his singular essenceor natureand (2) three Persons. Deity of Jesus: 10 Essentials You Need to Know! Matthew 3:16. Think about it: Finite Christians serve an eternal and infinite God. We define personhood by three key characteristics: Now that you understand the critical distinction, you know that essence is what. And you know personhood is who.. 6:2122), Resuscitation of the dead (1 Kings 17:1724; 2 Kings 4:1837), The resurrection of Jesus (Acts 4:10; Acts 10:40), Sustains the universe (Col. 1:17; Heb. In eternity past, before the beginning, God was alone. passage also demonstrates Jesus' early declaration of the Trinity. In order for something to be contradictory, it must violate the law of noncontradiction. Rather, the being of each Person is equal to the whole being of God.[1] The divine essence is not something that is divided between the three persons, but is fully in all three persons without being divided into parts., Thus, the Son is not one-third of the being of God, He is all of the being of God. You can't explain the Trinity to anyone who reasons because: 1) The Bible does not support it. Among the three persons of the Trinity, there is a proper order: The Father is the First Person of the Most Holy Trinity. Its a devotional book. On the other hand, we must say that the Persons are real, that they are not just different ways of looking at the one being of GodThe only way it seems possible to do this is to say that the distinction between the persons is not a difference of "being" but a difference of "relationships." A mystery that should cause us to marvel, and wonder, and worship! Famous pastor and authorA.W. This doctrine is absolutely essential to New Testament Christianity. While no church is perfect, the Trinity is still the model for the churchs unity (John 1:2123). You can cut into an apple in front of your group. So all three members of the Trinity have unique personhood. Answers to questions on donations, financial policies, Crus annual report and more. 4:6; James 2:19; Jude 25. The The truth is always new, fresh, and exciting to the believer in Christ. As youll see explained more deeply in one of the videos below, you can think of it this way: I am a human being. "After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him.". The Bible is full of Scripture speaking of there being only one God (seeDeuteronomy 6:4for starters), as well as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all being God. Lets move on to Scriptural evidence for the Trinity. Paul unequivocally taught Jesus is God (Col. 2:9). draws the believer into a new . Volunteer abroad this year on a short term global missions trip offered by one of the best, most-reliable Christian missions organizations in the world. And he should be referred to by personal pronouns and never as it. The Holy Spirits is a person because he: Scripture also proves that the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are God. 5:10), Requested prayer in his name (John 14:1314) and to be honored as God (John 5:23), Begetting the human nature of Christ at the incarnation (Luke 1:35), Inspiring Scripture (2 Tim. You can help us reach children and their families to know Jesus. The Holy Spirit is God. And confusing ones. Our kids are currently 2, 4, and 7, and its equally loved by all of them, so the Yoto age range is really wide! Two biblical teachings confirm the doctrine of the Trinity: How is that possible? The concept of the Trinity. However, within the nature of this one God are three persons, or three centers of consciousness - the Father, the Son, and the . Thus, they relate to each other personally the Father regards Himself as I, while He regards the Son and Holy Spirit as You. Likewise the Son regards Himself as I, but the Father and the Holy Spirit as You.. Weve made a comparison between this object and the Trinity. 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 andhow to explain the Trinity in simpler terms. But the Holy Spirit is not an it, but a He (see John 14:26; 16:7-15; Acts 8:16). This analogy ignores the personal distinctions within God and mitigates them to mere roles. Check out my tips for teaching your kids about bedtime prayer. Firstly, because finite humans cant comprehend an infinite God completely, Secondly, because many people confuse Gods one, Three distinct persons are God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Firstly, unfamiliarity between essence or nature and personhood, Secondly, practical analogies that help conceptualize the Trinity, On the one hand, there is Gods singular nature, essence, or substance, And on the other, there is Gods three Persons (Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit), The sum of the three angles must be 180 degrees, The three-ness refers to the three Persons: Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, The one-ness applies to Gods unity or his single divine essence, The Trinity is a plurality of Persons and a unity of essence, God is three whos (Persons) and one what (divine essence), The triangle corresponds to Gods essence, The three corners of the triangle correspond to the three Persons of the Trinity, A triangle is finite, and God is infinite, The corners of a triangle are not persons, Understanding of the difference between Gods one divine essence and three Persons, Old Testament: Ex. Divide your group into three teams and give each group a sheet of butcher paper or poster. 1:2), and empowers us for service (Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. Dont despair. Lets go back to the Trinity triangle graphic, and you will see: By now you understand that the three Persons of the Trinity equally share Gods essence. With teenagers, you want to take a different approach, and celebrate the mystery of it all. Firstly, we agree that finite humankind is limited. We can discern and apprehend what it is. How do we come to terms with these different ideas of God? Within a week,, Read More Is It Normal that My 4 Year Old Can Read? But it is not. But analogies cannot entirely explain the mystery of God. 1:12). The Definition Of The Trinity. You cant find an earthly match for this concept. " Here God is a plural noun, said is in the . The word Trinity does not appear even once in the Bible. 5:2), Miracles (Ex. Trinity not mentioned in the Bible anywhere! Jesus is like the flesh, because He became flesh so we could know Him better. 4:15), dying for our sins (1 Cor. God is infinite. Must you become a better person so that God will accept you? I am also fully Keith Ferrin. Often it is objected that If Jesus is God, then he must have prayed to himself while he was on earth. But the answer to this objection lies in simply applying what we have already seen. Orthodox Christian theology has always affirmed that the one true God is triune in nature. Showing God in action in and through His people. Read more. Satan. I am fully human. Jesus, the Word, was present in Genesis 1. For example, it says of Christ that in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). Yet Jesus would not have referenced the Trinity unless it was important. What is a functional order or subordination? It means that a Trinity member submits himself to one or both of the other members. Christianity is a monotheistic religion. In his bookMere Christianity, C. S. Lewis points out an important distinction. And during his earthly ministry, Christ subjected himself to the Fathers will. Jesus is God, but He is not the Father or the Holy Spirit. We cannot compete, in simplicity, with people who are inventing religions. As Christians, we derive our concept of person from the relations in the Trinity. I'm an author, speaker, husband, father and ice cream lover. In addition to these texts, the others we mentioned above make clear that the Personhood of the Holy Spirit is distinct from the Personhood of the Son and the Father. Have a great discussion about it! 2:511). The seeds are like the Holy Spirit, because He helps us grow. They are all eternal. There will always be some level of mystery to this, but when you talk about the being/nature/essence as God and the persons/expressions as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit I think we get at least a little bit closer to beginning to comprehend something we can never fully comprehend. But dont get confused. We just covered Gods one divine essence. Only older children will grasp the in one concept of H20. The concept of the Trinity is that we have God in three forms - a union of three. 5:7). 5:21), making it possible for us to have a relationship with God. But first, lets cover the basics. From our understanding of the Trinity (a social being), we recognize that a person is a relational being, not just someone with a mind, a will, and . Sigh. And the voice of the Father declared, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased (Matt. The Trinity does not divide God into three parts. While some say . Second, we have the son of God, Jesus. Use your hobbies and interests to find the best place for you to serve. How can one explain the Trinity simply to a new believer? While admitting the lack of conformity among believers, we must never consider it a minor issue of doctrine. Surely not. At the risk of sounding too physical, essence can be understood as the stuff that you consist of.. There are two other major monotheistic world religions namely Judaism and Islam. You arent alone! Clearly, he appreciated a plurality within the Godhead. Hmmm. He wrote, What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.. That means that, as Christians, we believe in only one God. 12:28; Rom. 10:2831), In Johns writings (1 John 4:1314; Rev. Well, we can know because God has given us his special revelation: the Bible. Trinity comes from two word parts: tri, meaning three, and unity, meaning as one. The concept of the Trinity is that we have God in three forms a union of three. Believe it or not, the fact that God is too immense for our finite minds should be comforting, not discouraging! A beautiful mystery. Of course, anyone can be simple if he has no facts to bother about (p. 145). Answer. Actually, March 17 commemorates St. Patrick's death, actually. The general pattern of prayer in the Bible is to pray to the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). First of all I want to tell you that the Trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the early 2000s, people began using a new approach called "deep . Heres the problem (and why we shouldntstartwith these analogies):If these analogies are the only way someone thinks of the Trinity, it will lead to one of two errors. The Holy Spirit isnt like an egg yolk, because the egg yolk is only part of an egg, whereas the Holy Spirit isnt part of God it IS God. Do Trinity Crafts/Printables. It's easy to turn doctrinal discussions into strictly intellectual affairs, but as Dr. Fred Sanders teaches in The Triune God course, we need to do so "in a way that enlists the reader's strict and holy attention for what is essentially a spiritual exercise." But continue seeking to understand why the Trinitarian nature of God matters. That definition is a mouthful. Many non-Christians and new Christians often struggle with the idea of the Holy Trinity, where we break up God into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Do you need to devote yourself to unselfish religious deeds? For instance, each Person: Scripture often names all three members of the Trinity together. But he avoids contradiction with this statement because he means that in one sense it was the best of times, but in another sense it was the worst of times. The triangle illustration is easy to understand, but an imperfect analogy because: Nonetheless, a triangle illustrates how there can be a three-ness and one-ness same time. First, we have God. Then I'll share an activity using the Celtic Trinity Knot to explain the Trinity to children along with the love that exists between each of its Persons and us. We need you. Fun fact: The 325 Nicene Creed does not state Trinity. And certainly not if it were a contradiction. While this is in my mind the simplest, clearest explanation, I understand that even this breaks down when we go further and say I am a human and I am Keith Ferrin. 9:5; Col. 2:9), The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:34; 2 Cor. So, in this article, we will look at where the term originated. We will never sell your information, for any reason. The oldest member of the unholy trinity. Perhaps for the first time, you have read that the Trinity is a mystery and not acontradiction. This formulation can show us why there are not three Gods, and why the Trinity is not a contradiction. 2:8-9), we can become Gods children. 55:8-9). Here are the best childrens Bibles, sorted by age. This leads us to investigate more closely a very helpful definition of the Trinity which I mentioned earlier: God is one in essence, but three in Person. 23-26; Luke 7:11-17; Luke 11:1-45), Sends the Holy Spirit and his gifts (John 16:714), Put his words on a par with Gods (Matt. But as a follower of Christ, your identity can and should be grounded in one thing: who He says you are. Then you will learn the distinction between personhood and essence or nature. 2:17). I am also Keith Ferrin. Thats the one we think of as the Father. God is like the skin because He protects us. The all powerful one who lives up in Heaven and either judges us mercilessly or loves us endlessly, depending on who you ask. 2:1011; Heb. Further, we should allow the fact that God is triune to deepen our worship. December 19, 2018. 55 years on I've yet to hear or read an explanation of the Trinity that makes sense.