How do we best explain the triune God?
Discussion
51 comments
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Understand the Godhead thus all
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For those who see the word “Trinity” and “Godhead” are not mentioned in the bible.
It’s a concept… a theory….not biblical.
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The salvation itself is a Trinitarian work. The Father chooses, the Son redeems, the Holy Spirit seals. (Ephesians 1:1-14)
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Godhead is mentioned….in col 2 8
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Simple way to understand triune God is, One God with His Creative Word, and his Living Spirit. The Word can exist on His Own so also the Spirit which is the Spirit of God.
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“For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”
I John 5:7 NKJV -
Don’t it isn’t scriptural There is one God who is a SELF EXISTING SPIRIT His name is Jesus Christ
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Who resurrected Jesus?
Did he resurrect Himself?
If he did, then that means he didn’t die. -
Three persons in one essence. Same as it’s been described for 16+ centuries.
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No such thing as triune god. We have one God that manifests in many ways.
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Matthew 3:16-17 King James Version (KJV)
16 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:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
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We should never attempt to explain something the scriptures do not explain! Paul calls this a mystery, 2 Timonthy 3:16 The mystery of Godliness. John says the word that was with God, was God was, that word was made flesh, made human. John 1:1-14.
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WCF 2:3.
3. In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost: the Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.
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The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit … one God in three Divine coeternal persons (hypostases)
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I don’t know if you can explain the Trinity. We have proof texts and our own descriptions of how we think we can explain the Trinity. The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit all are refered to as God in Scripture. If finite man can explain an infinite God Who exists in a way beyond our comprehension, God would not be God. God is the only Being who can exists in such form.
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I know this is long, but: THE TRINITY
A. Evidence: it’s Biblically valid
Jehovah’s Witnesses:
“3 Gods in 1”
“Well suited to the Dark Ages which it helped to produce.”However:
Evidence is cumulative.
Old Testament hints:
Gen. 1:1 (& others) “Elohim” plural (at least 3?)
Gen. 1:26 “Us” (pl) ) “Image”(Sing) “Our”(pl”) “Likeness”( Sing)
Gen. 11:7
Gen. 18:1-3
Gen. 19:24
Num. 6:24-26
Deut. 6:4,5 (re Gen. 2:24)
Ps. 33:6 (“word…LORD…breath (Spirit)”)
Ps. 50:1 (“El, Elohim, YHWH”)
Isa. 6:3
Isa. 43:11 (hidden): “I, I, I AM” (3 “I”s)
Isa. 48:16,17 (vs. 12 ref. Rev. 1:17,18)
Isa. 6017; 61:1,2
Dan. 2:47New Testament Statements:
Matt. 3:16,17
Matt. 17: 1-8 (Transfiguration)
Matt. 28:19 (“Name” sing.)
Luke 1:35
Luke 9:28-36 (Transfiguration)
Acts 10:38
Rom. 15:15,16
I Cor. 12:4-6
II Cor. 13:14
Gal. 4:6
Eph. 2:13, 18
I Pet. 1:2
I Pet. 3:18 (NAS margin & NIV)
I John 4:13,14
I John 2:4; 5:7 (KJV & NKJV; I believe it belongs)B. “Understanding”: it’s scientifically valid
Humanity in the Image of God:
Gen. 1:27
Gen. 2:7
“Breath” = “spirit” (same word “ruach”; also “wind”)
body = from dust
man a living soul (nephesh” Heb; “psuche” Gk) (KJV; NAS margin)spirit = worship, revelation, conscience
soul = mind, emotions, will
body = flesh, blood, bonesDistinction between soul & spirit:
I Thess. 5:23
Heb. 4:12
hence the rror of psychology and psychchiatry…and especially psychics!Christ, in Incarnate One, is the obvious equivalent of “body”
Holy Spirit is also obvious
The Father as the “Soul” of the Trinity:
Mark 13:32 mind
John 6:38-40 will
John 16:26,27 emotionsRom. 1:20
If this verse is true, we should find a true tri-unity in the physical universe.
Egg (shell, white, yolk)
Shamrock (3 leaves)
Water (h2o; 2 parts hydrogen, 1 part oxygen)
“water, ice & steam”
atom: neutron, proton, nucleus
triangle
human
All of the above are imperfect pictures.However:
We live in a tri-une universe.
1. space
2. time
3. matter
Take away any one, and the universe would cease as we know it.Gen. 1:1
“the beginning” –time
“heavens” – shamayim (pl) stretched out expanses or “space:”
“earth” eretz; substance from which things are formed, i.e. “matter”J.W. tract title: “1+1+1=1?”
HOWEVER:
Space = length, height, width
Time = past, present, future
Matter = liquid, solid, gas (not enough proof for “plasma”)
Volume of room: L X H X W or 1x1x1= 1! -
This is the best explanation I’ve seen.
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Christ’s baptism, the person of christ, the voice of the father and the dove descending upon him, the holy Spirit
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From CARM.ORG
Hypostatic Union
Hypostatic Union is the union of the two natures (Divine and human) in the person of Jesus. Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1, 14, 10:30-33, 20:28, Phil. 2:5-8, Heb. 1:8). He is fully God and fully man (Col. 2:9), thus, He has two natures: God and man. He is not half God and half man. He is 100% God and 100% man. He never lost His divinity. He continued to exist as God when He became a man and added human nature to Himself (Phil. 2:5-11). Therefore, there is a “union in one person of a full human nature and a full divine nature.” Right now in Heaven there is a man, Jesus, who is our Mediator between us and God the Father (1 Tim. 2:5). (For related information on Jesus and His two natures, see Incarnation and the errors concerning His natures known as Eutychianism, Monophycitism, and Nestorianism).
Jesus as God
Jesus as Man
He is worshipped (Matt. 2:2, 11, 14:33). He worshipped the Father (John 17).
He is prayed to (Acts 7:59). He prayed to the Father (John 17).
He is sinless (1 Pet. 2:22, Heb. 4:15). He was tempted (Matt. 4:1).
He knows all things (John 21:17). He grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52).
He gives eternal life (John 10:28). He died (Rom. 5:8).
All the fullness of deity dwells in Him (Col. 2:9). He has a body of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). -
There is really no decent discrption or definition that can be given without faith being the final answer for belief in the Trinity. With that said, I 100 percent believe in the trinity.
Here is how I look at it. We are created in God’s image. Our body is made of cells. Each cell has three distinct parts and yet one cell. I have also heard of the egg. One egg, the shell, the whites and the yolk. These are examples of three in one, but each pale in comparison to the Trinity.
To believe in the Trinity takes faith. Someday when we get to Heaven we will all know this mystery.Blessings!
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The scriptures – and that from the Bible:
John 17:19-23
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
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.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
As the disciples are one with Jesus Christ and the Father – as they are converted and perfected… so also is God the Father, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Ghost are ONE.
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Athanasian Creed
Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith.
Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally.
Now this is the catholic faith:
That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,
neither blending their persons
nor dividing their essence.
For the person of the Father is a distinct person,
the person of the Son is another,
and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.
What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has.
The Father is uncreated,
the Son is uncreated,
the Holy Spirit is uncreated.
The Father is immeasurable,
the Son is immeasurable,
the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.
The Father is eternal,
the Son is eternal,
the Holy Spirit is eternal.
And yet there are not three eternal beings;
there is but one eternal being.
So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings;
there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.
Similarly, the Father is almighty,
the Son is almighty,
the Holy Spirit is almighty.
Yet there are not three almighty beings;
there is but one almighty being.
Thus the Father is God,
the Son is God,
the Holy Spirit is God.
Yet there are not three gods;
there is but one God.
Thus the Father is Lord,
the Son is Lord,
the Holy Spirit is Lord.
Yet there are not three lords;
there is but one Lord.
Just as Christian truth compels us
to confess each person individually
as both God and Lord,
so catholic religion forbids us
to say that there are three gods or lords.
The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone.
The Son was neither made nor created;
he was begotten from the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten;
he proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers;
there is one Son, not three sons;
there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.
Nothing in this trinity is before or after,
nothing is greater or smaller;
in their entirety the three persons
are coeternal and coequal with each other.
So in everything, as was said earlier,
we must worship their trinity in their unity
and their unity in their trinity.
Anyone then who desires to be saved
should think thus about the trinity.
But it is necessary for eternal salvation
that one also believe in the incarnation
of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully.
Now this is the true faith:
That we believe and confess
that our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son,
is both God and human, equally.
He is God from the essence of the Father,
begotten before time;
and he is human from the essence of his mother,
born in time;
completely God, completely human,
with a rational soul and human flesh;
equal to the Father as regards divinity,
less than the Father as regards humanity.
Although he is God and human,
yet Christ is not two, but one.
He is one, however,
not by his divinity being turned into flesh,
but by God’s taking humanity to himself.
He is one,
certainly not by the blending of his essence,
but by the unity of his person.
For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh,
so too the one Christ is both God and human.
He suffered for our salvation;
he descended to hell;
he arose from the dead;
he ascended to heaven;
he is seated at the Father’s right hand;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
At his coming all people will arise bodily
and give an accounting of their own deeds.
Those who have done good will enter eternal life,
and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.
This is the catholic faith:
one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully. -
This post is a good one. Here we can distinguish between sheeps and wolves.
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1 essence 3 persons
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Imagine you have a large pail of water. The large pail of water represents God.
Now put the pail of water on the stove and heat it up until it starts producing steam floating up into the air. This steam represents the Holy Spirit. It came from the water and is water but has a different function. The Steam and the water are one.
Now take some of the water out of the pale and put it in the freezer to make ice cubes. These ice cubes represent Jesus. The ice cubes and the water and the steam are all water and are all one but they all three have different functions. -
The Godhead is the Father/Spirit only Godhead means deity and he is the only God the existing one is what Jehovah means. The fullness of the Godhead dwells in the Son bodily If the Godhead is F S and HS then the Father Son and Holy Spirit are in the son which doesn’t make sense God is Holy and he is Spirit Jesus is the express image of the person who is the Father. If you have seen me you’ve seen the Father. We will only ever see God in the face of Jesus
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It’s hard for a creation do describe an infinitely more intelligent being to one another.
But what the Scripture alludes to is 3 distinct aspects of this single essence called YHWH. And we were made in His image right? Well, let’s see how we can look at how we were made in His image and describe Him based on His image.
Humans have 3 components of living. Thought, word, and deed. Right?? My thoughts are not my words. My words are not my deeds, and my deeds are not my thoughts. BUT! My thoughts generate my words and my deeds, but they happen simultaneously, not independent of each other, but co-dependant upon each other. Right? And I would not be me without these components, but the components are not separate, they are all me. MY action, MY words, MY thoughts. They flow from me, and are me.
God also has thought, word and deed. The Father, which is the will, the Son which is the Word, and the Spirit which is the movement of God. All things were created by GOD, not Just the Father, but He spoke it into existence, and the Spirit moved and caused everything to be. The speaking is the Word, which is the second component or person or aspect of the Holy Trinity.
You could also look at the dimension of time. Past, present and future. They are all called time right? They are not all different times, but they all exist as time. Not the same thing, but not separate either.
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For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
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The trichotomy of man
Spirit, soul and body
Man’s a spirit, has a soul and dwells in a body. Is one beautiful way to explain the Trinity of God -
The best way I have heard that our finite minds can explain the infinite ONE triune God is that He is three co-equal, co-eternal, co-creating PERSONS – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Even though the Son is subject/subordinate/submissive to the Father, and the Holy Spirit is subject/subordinate/submissive to the Father and the Son, none of the three members of the triune Godhead is superior or inferior in nature, essence and/or substance to the other two persons.
For example, when Jesus (the Son), while on earth in His incarnate humanity said, “…My Father is greater than I,” He did not mean His Father was or is BETTER [Strong’s number: 2909 κρείττων, kreittōn – superior, more excellent] or superior in nature to Himself.
If Jesus would have wanted to tell His audience that His Father was superior in nature to Himself, He would have used the following Greek word:
Strong’s number: 4119 πλεῖον, pleion – (quaLItatively) greater in value; superior in nature, substance and essence.
Matthew 12:41-42 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah [meaning Jesus Himself] is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed, a greater than Solomon [meaning Jesus Himself] is here.
Luke 11:31-32 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon [meaning Jesus Himself] is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah [meaning Jesus Himself] is here.
Instead, He used the following:
Strong’s number: 3173 Greek root word = μέγα, mega – (quaNTitavely) greater; higher in rank, authority or position.
Found in the following verses (among others):
Matthew 11:11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater [higher in rank, authority or position] than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
John 13:16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.
John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
Certainly, the disciples’ works would not be greater in quality than those of Jesus (they couldn’t cast out demons at one point, nor could they raise themselves from the dead, as Jesus did!)
John 14:28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater [higher in rank, authority or position] than I.
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Water. Ice. Steam. All the same.
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A room. 1 room. Three dimensions. Take away any dimension it’s not a room.
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Isa 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Ge 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, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Ge 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
Ge 18:1 ¶ And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
Isa 48:13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. 4 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.16 ¶ Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. -
God is 3 persons 1 being. You cannot understand God completely.
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From what I understand, Jesus is the Word of God, as explained in the Gospel of John ch. 1. The spoken Word of the Father manifested into flesh, into man. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. Therefore they are all One, but seperate.
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Gen 1:1,2 : GOD, Spirit of GOD
John 1:1-4,14: Word, Word is GOD, Word became flesh (Jesus)
Always explain everything from the Word
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THE TRINITY DOCTRINE THAT SAYS THERE IS “ONE GOD IN 3 PERSONS” BECOMES “ONE GOD IN ZERO PERSON” BIBLICALLY. IF IT IS ZERO PERSON THEN THE DOCTRINE DOES NOT EXIST!! COMMENTS?
The doctrine of trinity says that there is “One God in 3 persons or personifications”. Biblically, this becomes “One God in zero person”. If it is zero person, then the doctrine does not exist. Some people are following a doctrine that does not exist.
Let us try to analyze the situation based on the concept of trinity.
This one God as they say personified as God the Father, then personified as God the Son (Son of God), then personified as God the Holy Spirit. It looks now that there is One God who personified himself in 3 persons. Now, here is the problem. Those 3 personified persons have their own entities, and according to the bible, these 3 are Gods by their own rights. Let us try to do some simple math. 1 God (God the Father) + 1 God (God the Son) + 1 God (God the Holy Spirit) = 3 Gods. What about this original One God that did the personification? So, it now becomes 3 Gods + 1 God (The original One God) = 4 Gods. We are now speaking of 4 Gods, but the bible says there is only one God. Wow!! This looks confusing!! What is the explanation about this?
Let me explain:
In Isaiah 63:16 it says that “Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting”. = In this verse it says that God is God the Father.
In 1 Corinthians 8:6 it says that
“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” = when the bible says that there is only one God, it means that there is only One God the Father from whom everything came from. Although there is also the Son of God who is also a God, and the Holy Spirit who is also a God, but it remains that there is only One God the Father.
In Ephesians 4:6 it says that
“One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” = Still it means that there is only One God the Father.
In John 10:29 it says that
“My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand”. = Still one God the Father.
It is understood then that when we say God, that God is God the Father.
Now, let’s go back to the personification. This time it is not this One God that will personify, but this time it will be God the Father that will personify since this One God is actually God the Father.
This God the Father personified as the Holy Spirit (1st personification), then God the Father personified as the Son (2nd personification). There is no 3rd personification, because God the Father will not personify as the Father, because he is already the Father. It now becomes “One God in 2 persons”. There is no bible verse that will support the claim that God the Father personified as the Son. That now becomes One God in 1 person. There is no bible verse that will support the claim that God the Father personified as the Holy Spirit. That now becomes “One God in zero person”. If it is zero person then the doctrine does not exist.
Since this doctrine does not exist biblically, then it is of no use believing in this doctrine. For two thousand years people had believed in this “One God in 3 Persons”, not even taking the effort of analyzing the doctrine biblically.
There is no such thing as a triune God, nor the word person used in the Godhead.
I am trying to prove that God the Father did not personified himself as the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yes, there are 3 of them, God the Father, Son of God (God the Son), and the Holy Spirit, but they were not personified in order for them to exist. These three have their own entities. -
Let me give you this illustration, one can be a married man, with children. To his parents is a son, to his wife is a husband, and to his children is a dad. All these titles goes to one person according to the role he plays. They aren’t three persons but one.
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One Divine nature fully shared by 3 distinct and yet united persons called Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
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Scripturely!
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WFC CHAPTER TWO. CHAPTER 2
Of God, and of the Holy Trinity
1. There is but one only,a living, and true God,b who is infinite in being and perfection,c a most pure spirit,d invisible,e without body, parts,f or passions;g immutable,h immense,i eternal,k incomprehensible,l almighty,m most wise,n most holy,o most free,p most absolute;q working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will,r for his own glory;s most loving,t gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin;u the rewarder of them that diligently seek him;w and withal, most just, and terrible in his judgments,x hating all sin,y and who will by no means clear the guilty.z(a) Deut 6:4; 1 Cor 8:4,6; Gal 3:20
(b) 1 Thess 1:9; Jer 10:10
(c) Job 11:7-9; Job 26:14; Ps 139:6
(d) John 4:24
(e) 1 Tim 1:17; John 1:18
(f) Deut 4:15-16; John 4:24; Luke 24:39
(g) Acts 14:11,15
(h) Jas 1:17; Mal 3:6
(i) 1 Kgs 8:27; Jer 23:23-24
(k) Ps 90:2; 1 Tim 1:17
(l) Ps 145:3; Rom 11:34
(m) Gen 17:1; Rev 4:8
(n) Rom 16:27
(o) Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8
(p) Ps 115:3; Isa 14:24
(q) Isa 45:5-6; Exod 3:14
(r) Eph 1:11
(s) Prov 16:4; Rom 11:36; Rev 4:11
(t) 1 John 4:8; 1 John 4:16; John 3:16
(u) Exod 34:6-7
(w) Heb 11:6
(x) Neh 9:32-33; Heb 10:28-31
(y) Rom 1:18; Ps 5:5-6; Ps 11:5
(z) Exod 34:7; Nah 1:2-3,6
Top | Bottom2. God hath all life,a glory,b goodness,c blessedness,d in and of himself; and is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which he hath made,e nor deriving any glory from them,f but only manifesting his own glory in, by, unto, and upon them. He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things;g and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever himself pleaseth.h In his sight all things are open and manifest,i his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature,k so as nothing is to him contingent, or uncertain.l He is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands.m To him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience he is pleased to require of them.n
(a) Jer 10:10; John 5:26
(b) Acts 7:2
(c) Ps 119:68
(d) 1 Tim 6:15; Rom 9:5
(e) Acts 17:24-25
(f) Luke 17:10
(g) Rom 11:36
(h) Rev 4:11; Dan 4:25,35; 1 Tim 6:15
(i) Heb 4:13
(k) Rom 11:33-34; Ps 147:5
(l) Acts 15:18; Ezek 11:5
(m) Ps 145:17; Rom 7:12
(n) Rev 5:12-14
Top | Bottom3. In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost:o the Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father;p the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.q
(o) Matt 3:16-17; Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14; Eph 2:18
(p) John 1:14,18; Heb 1:2-3; Col 1:15
(q) John 15:26; Gal 4:6Previous | Contents | Nex
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For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 1 John 5:7
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I believe that the Athanasian creed explains it very very well:
That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,
neither blending their persons
nor dividing their essence.
For the person of the Father is a distinct person,
the person of the Son is another,
and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has.
The Father is uncreated,
the Son is uncreated,
the Holy Spirit is uncreated.The Father is immeasurable,
the Son is immeasurable,
the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.The Father is eternal,
the Son is eternal,
the Holy Spirit is eternal.And yet there are not three eternal beings;
there is but one eternal being.
So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings;
there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.Similarly, the Father is almighty,
the Son is almighty,
the Holy Spirit is almighty.
Yet there are not three almighty beings;
there is but one almighty being.Thus the Father is God,
the Son is God,
the Holy Spirit is God.
Yet there are not three gods;
there is but one God.Thus the Father is Lord,
the Son is Lord,
the Holy Spirit is Lord.
Yet there are not three lords;
there is but one Lord.Just as Christian truth compels us
to confess each person individually
as both God and Lord,
so catholic religion forbids us
to say that there are three gods or lords.The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone.
The Son was neither made nor created;
he was begotten from the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten;
he proceeds from the Father and the Son.Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers;
there is one Son, not three sons;
there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.Nothing in this trinity is before or after,
nothing is greater or smaller;
in their entirety the three persons
are coeternal and coequal with each other.So in everything, as was said earlier,
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Tell people what the Bible says about the triune God.
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Triune
Only a fool would try to conform God to their idea of the physical universe. God is spirit.. Can god be anywhere and everywhere in the universe and beyond in the totally of His being at any given moment of time as we perceive it or is your god limited by time and space? The nature of the ultimate spirit as three persons that are the one and only God is beyond our understanding. This is the way that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. In truth there is not anything that we fully understand like gravity, energy, light or time. As Paul has said, 1Co 8:2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. -
One in essence but three person.
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Athanasian creed.
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