What you believe about God is critical. To have a wrong view of God means one does not know the One true God. The Bible is the only place where we can find a true picture of God. What the Bible says about who the One true God differentiates drastically from all of the other world religions and their view of God. The god or gods of all other world religions bear the image of man. They do what we would do, they say what we would say, their ways are just like our ways, their thoughts are just like our thoughts. Why? Because these are not the One true God, and they demonstrate the fingerprints of human authorship.
On the other hand, the Scriptures demonstrate unique realities of God that could not be thought up by the human mind, nor completely understood by the human mind either. In Christianity, God is infinite, and thus, cannot be completely fathomed by our finite minds. Evidence of this is that God is a Trinitarian God. This does not speak of polytheism, the view that there are many gods, but rather is unique. The Scriptures teach of the monotheistic God, who is one (Deut. 6:1). The Lord our God is one in essence. There are not three gods, but One true God in essence. However, the Scriptures also teach that God exists eternally as three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). The Father is God (John 20:17), the Son is God (Colossians 2:9), and the Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). Evidence of this reality is that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all have unique personhood and work that they do. First, each person of the Trinity has a mind. The Father has a mind (1 Corinthians 2:11), the Son has a mind (1 Corinthians 2:16), and the Spirit has a mind (Romans 8:27). They all have a will. The Father has a will (Isaiah 46:8-12), the Son has a will (Luke 22:42), and the Spirit has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11). And they all have emotions. The Father has emotions (Exodus 34:6-7), the Son has emotions (Hebrews 12:2), and the Holy Spirit has emotions (Ephesians 4:30). These three realities, mind, will, and emotions, demonstrate the personhood of each member of the trinity.
The Scriptures also give specific praise to each member of the Trinity for the work which they do. The Father is praised in the Scriptures for His work in creation (1 Peter 4:19), election (Ephesians 1:3-6), sending the Son and the Spirit (1 John 4:14; John 14:26), etc. The Son is praised in the Scriptures for His work in redemption (Ephesians 1:7-10), His life, death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), intercession (Romans 8:34), future judgment (Acts 17:30-31), etc. The Spirit is praised for His work in regeneration (Titus 3:5), sanctification (Galatians 5:22-23), sealing of believers (Ephesians 1:13-14), etc. Each member has a unique personhood and work, and thus should be understood to be truly God, and yet distinct from the other members of the Trinity. The Father is not the Son or the Spirit, the Son is not the Father or the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father or the Son. They are unique. There is one God in essence, eternally existing in three persons. It is not that there is one God who sometimes acts as the Father, sometimes manifest Himself as the Son, or sometimes reveals Himself as the Spirit. That is modalism and the Scriptures do not teach this. In Matthew 3:13-17 we see Jesus’ baptism. At this event we see all three persons of the Trinity. Jesus is baptized, the Spirit descends as a dove onto Jesus, and the Father speaks from heaven and says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” All three members are seen in one text. This is why Jesus says in Matthew 28:19, we are to baptize new disciples in the name (singular – one God) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (3 persons). The Scriptures are clear, there is one God, and yet, He is three in person. To deny the trinity, is to deny the One true God. Thus, we must trust in what God and His Word declares of the One true God!
On the other hand, the Scriptures demonstrate unique realities of God that could not be thought up by the human mind, nor completely understood by the human mind either. In Christianity, God is infinite, and thus, cannot be completely fathomed by our finite minds. Evidence of this is that God is a Trinitarian God. This does not speak of polytheism, the view that there are many gods, but rather is unique. The Scriptures teach of the monotheistic God, who is one (Deut. 6:1). The Lord our God is one in essence. There are not three gods, but One true God in essence. However, the Scriptures also teach that God exists eternally as three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). The Father is God (John 20:17), the Son is God (Colossians 2:9), and the Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). Evidence of this reality is that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit all have unique personhood and work that they do. First, each person of the Trinity has a mind. The Father has a mind (1 Corinthians 2:11), the Son has a mind (1 Corinthians 2:16), and the Spirit has a mind (Romans 8:27). They all have a will. The Father has a will (Isaiah 46:8-12), the Son has a will (Luke 22:42), and the Spirit has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11). And they all have emotions. The Father has emotions (Exodus 34:6-7), the Son has emotions (Hebrews 12:2), and the Holy Spirit has emotions (Ephesians 4:30). These three realities, mind, will, and emotions, demonstrate the personhood of each member of the trinity.
The Scriptures also give specific praise to each member of the Trinity for the work which they do. The Father is praised in the Scriptures for His work in creation (1 Peter 4:19), election (Ephesians 1:3-6), sending the Son and the Spirit (1 John 4:14; John 14:26), etc. The Son is praised in the Scriptures for His work in redemption (Ephesians 1:7-10), His life, death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), intercession (Romans 8:34), future judgment (Acts 17:30-31), etc. The Spirit is praised for His work in regeneration (Titus 3:5), sanctification (Galatians 5:22-23), sealing of believers (Ephesians 1:13-14), etc. Each member has a unique personhood and work, and thus should be understood to be truly God, and yet distinct from the other members of the Trinity. The Father is not the Son or the Spirit, the Son is not the Father or the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father or the Son. They are unique. There is one God in essence, eternally existing in three persons. It is not that there is one God who sometimes acts as the Father, sometimes manifest Himself as the Son, or sometimes reveals Himself as the Spirit. That is modalism and the Scriptures do not teach this. In Matthew 3:13-17 we see Jesus’ baptism. At this event we see all three persons of the Trinity. Jesus is baptized, the Spirit descends as a dove onto Jesus, and the Father speaks from heaven and says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” All three members are seen in one text. This is why Jesus says in Matthew 28:19, we are to baptize new disciples in the name (singular – one God) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (3 persons). The Scriptures are clear, there is one God, and yet, He is three in person. To deny the trinity, is to deny the One true God. Thus, we must trust in what God and His Word declares of the One true God!
Comments
Post a Comment