how to explain the trinity to a new believer10 marca 2023
The word Trinity is never explicitly mentioned in the Bible; however, countless scriptures mention all three forms of God. 1. 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). Thats what faith is being content with our own confusion while still knowing that God is bigger than we can comprehend. Weve made a comparison between this object and the Trinity. Monotheism is foundational to Christianity. How to Explain the Trinity to an Unbeliever The Village Church - Flower Mound 118K subscribers 36K views 5 years ago The Trinity is confusing even to most Christians, so we want to pull the. They are different Persons, not three different ways of looking at God. So many things clamor to define you. Simply stated, God is one in essence and three in person. While not a typical conversation starter, this question is one of the most important we can ask in life. Discipleship involves a lot, but one of the most important things you can do with a new believer is read the Bible with them-teaching them how to read, understand, respond to, and apply God's Word. 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. know that I recognise only one God. There are two men in their 20s who came to faith in Christ in recent weeks through the ministry of our church. Stated differently, God is one in essence and three in person. 1:2;). They are three real persons, not three roles God plays. 40:18; Rom. Read Books About The Trinity. They are higher than the heavenswhat can you do?, "For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.. When you cut an apple in half, you can see that each of these three parts are different (at this point, you can cut the apple open for your kids! Neither should we think of the Persons as being defined by attributes added on to the being of God. 2) It makes no sense 3) The doctrine is rooted in ancient pagan Babylon 4) Jesus himself said he is God's SON; not God himself as the Trinity teaches Gods essence is His being. There was never a time when one of the Persons of the Godhead did not exist. 2. Only older children will grasp the in one concept of H20. Because ethnicity is part of the good of creation, we seek to honor and celebrate the ethnic identity of those with whom we serve as well as those we seek to reach. 1:7; 2 Tim. I am also Keith Ferrin. The idea that God is somehow three and one starts onPage 1and never changes. It is understandable that our finite minds cannot grasp an infinite God. They are all eternal. Did your kids give each form of God different personality traits? 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. How to EXPLAIN The Trinity to a New Believer - Introduction to the Godhead In this video I will introduce the godhead or the trinity in one of the easiest te. How do we receive His grace? 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. What we do mean by Person is something that regards himself as I and others as You. So the Father, for example, is a different Person from the Son because He regards the Son as a You, even though He regards Himself as I. Thus, in regards to the Trinity, we can say that Person means a distinct subject which regards Himself as an I and the other two as a You. These distinct subjects are not a division within the being of God, but a form of personal existence other than a difference in being.[3]. Your Identity in Christ: How God Sees You. If you're looking for the best Christian jobs and careers, check out Cru's ministry job openings for full- and part-time missionaries and professionals. For if we deny this, we have denied Gods unity and affirmed that there is more than one being of God (i.e., that there is more than one God). This is very important: God is one and three at the same time, but not in the same way. The Apostle Paul also affirms the doctrine of the Trinity. In this blog post, we will discuss how schools and parents can help girls to, Read More Navigating Girl Drama: 20 Ways Schools and Parents Can Help Calm the StormContinue, Ill never forget the moment I watched in amazement as my newly-turned 4 year old sounded out her first few CVC words. The answer hinges on the differences in their unique roles. Its three things, but all are complete on their own. Leading from values so others will walk passionately with God to grow and bear fruit. How to Teach Kids the Trinity with an Apple Object Lesson Grab an apple and share these five truths with your kids: An apple has three parts: the seeds, the flesh, and the skin. The three most common go-to analogies for explaining the Trinity are water, an egg, and the sun. But Jesus did not become less than the Father during his incarnation. This formulation can show us why there are not three Gods, and why the Trinity is not a contradiction. You can cut into an apple in front of your group. While the three members of the Trinity are distinct, this does not mean that any is inferior to the other. also 1:18). Many of us say it every single Sunday morning. As Christians, we derive our concept of person from the relations in the Trinity. There we read that " God said, 'Let us make man in our image' . Why do so many people struggle with the doctrine of the Trinity? But as a follower of Christ, your identity can and should be grounded in one thing: who He says you are. Rather, everything that one Person is involved in, the other two are also involved in, one way or another. Because of Gods nature, several mysteries exist within our faith. Perhaps for the first time, you have read that the Trinity is a mystery and not acontradiction. Are you still not a Christian? Do Trinity Crafts/Printables. If you go to YouTube and search on explain the Trinity youll findlotsof videos. 4:6; James 2:19; Jude 25. After all, so much happens in the week leading up to the resurrection of Christ. Why? This is one of the books of the Torah. 118:28, God referred to in the third person singular (he, his, him): Gen. 1:5, 10; Ex. He is three in a different way than He is one. How can we pack more meaning and deeper, Read More Holy Week for Kids: How to Teach Beyond Easter SundayContinue, Not every child is born with tons of self esteem. AboutPressCopyrightContact. We cannot compete, in simplicity, with people who are inventing religions. 12:28; Rom. Yet Jesus would not have referenced the Trinity unless it was important. The three-ness and one-ness are two different features. 3:3; Heb. 8:3539; Eph. We should not think of God as like a pie cut into three pieces, each piece representing a Person. You can't explain the Trinity to anyone who reasons because: 1) The Bible does not support it. How is God different? The doctrine of the Trinity is considered to be one of the central Christian affirmations about God. In order for something to be contradictory, it must violate the law of noncontradiction. How is God one? Below are several of the most popular ones. How can God be both one and three? 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." The only way humans can know about these mysteries is because the Bible teaches them. That leaves us with the modern definition of the word mystery. Unfortunately, it is also a doctrine that is surrounded by disagreement and controversy among believers. We hate SPAM. 1:20-21), In salutations and benedictions (2 Cor. And that he is manifest as three Persons.. Each person of the Trinity is equally and fully God, distinct from the others, and yet they remain just one God. And the voice of the Father declared, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased (Matt. Essence and personhood are NOT the same thing. These definitions express three crucial truths: (1) The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, (2) each Person is fully God, (3) there is only one God. We can be adopted by the Father and united with Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit (John 1:1223; Rom. The The truth is always new, fresh, and exciting to the believer in Christ. These verses make it impossible to deny their individuality and deity. Ive already done your research at my local library. Think about it: Finite Christians serve an eternal and infinite God. From the 1950s to the 2000s, people wanted to see if they could make computers exhibit intelligence indistinguishable from humans. However, let me highlight some of the most significant passages that confirm monotheism: Are you interested in learning more about the Godhead? 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. Equipping families with practical approaches to parenting and marriage. And in John 16:13-15 we see that although there is a close unity between them all, the Holy Spirit is also distinct from the Father and the Son. For instance: Additionally, all three members of the Trinity participate together in several critical events. Before anything was created he begat his Logos as a person distinct from himself. The technical term in case youre interested for this wrong way of thinking about God is calledmodalism. 8:26), guides (John 16:13), creates (Ps. 2:18). 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.. Ive got you covered with all the basics, no matter your denomination. 10:57), The Holy Spirit indwells every Christian. But that doesn't mean the concept isn't clearly taught. Wayne Grudem explains: But if each person is fully God and has all of Gods being, then we also should not think that the personal distinctions are any kind of additional attributes added on to the being of God . Genesis 1:1says this: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.. 9:5; Col. 2:9), The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:34; 2 Cor. With teenagers, you want to take a different approach, and celebrate the mystery of it all. 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. 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. That isGod is three Persons in onethe Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Tertullian coined the term Trinity during the second century. If we can understand more precisely what is meant by essence and person, how these two terms differ, and how they relate, we will then have a more complete understanding of the Trinity. Take the next step in your faith journey with resources on prayer, devotionals and other tools for personal and spiritual growth. " Here God is a plural noun, said is in the . These personal distinctions are modes of existence within the divine being, but are not divisions of the divine being. As Hebrews 9:14 declares. All of this information is a lot to take in at once. One of the problems is that most of us myself included are tempted to move too quickly to analogies that only help explainaspectsof the Trinity. Read more. 1:318; 1 Pet. The Trinity is the perfect loving community of three Persons. The ancient church fathers at first simply acknowledged the Trinity without feeling the need to explain a theology of that understanding. God the Son is the rays of sunshine. 8:1417). Learn why He did it and what it means for you. And that knowledge can feel liberating. Best Age To Teach The Trinity To A Child. Rather, each person of the Trinity has all of the attributes of God, and no one Person has any attributes that are not possessed by the others. While admitting the lack of conformity among believers, we must never consider it a minor issue of doctrine. God the Fathers plan of redeeming humankind involved sending his Son into the world (John 3:16), The Son accomplished redemption for us on the cross (Heb. Firstly, we agree that finite humankind is limited. Explaining the Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit will be needed at some point when presenting the God of the Bible to children, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and other non-Christians. The Definition Of The Trinity. Therefore, the Holy Spirit must be distinct from the Father and the Son. And the triangle can help us distinguish one essence from the three Persons. The Trinity is a mystery beyond our comprehension (Isa. The fact that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons means, in other words, that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. 4; 14; Jon. 1. Surely not. 4. How do we come to terms with these different ideas of God? 1. the one who is not a Christian. Hmmm. 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. 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. Gods attributes are not parts of his singular divine essence. You arent alone! More posts you may like r/TrueChristian We are referring to two different features of God: (1) his singular essenceor natureand (2) three Persons. God is the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. He exists as a Trinity. If you are teaching young children, these object lessons are both the perfect starting and stopping point. 2:2729). To contemplate the Trinity is to lift up your heart and to "set your mind on the things above" (Col. 3:2). 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. I might end with sharing a few analogies from nature. During this period, it was attempted solely by using algorithmswhich are basically rules or sets of rules you tell a computer to follow. That is why understanding what the Trinity is and is not asserting. The doctrine of the Trinity is the belief that there is one God who has revealed Himself in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three members of the Trinity have these characteristics. 15:3). Simply put: without three angles, theres no triangle! The Holy Spirit is God. Most Christians are puzzled by the Trinity, and therefore, cant explain it very well. He regenerates us with new spiritual life (John 3:58). 2:8-9), we can become Gods children. The Father is not one-third of the being of God, He is all of the being of God. There are two other major monotheistic world religions namely Judaism and Islam. 11:3336). What we do not mean by Person is an independent individual in the sense that both I and another human are separate, independent individuals who can exist apart from one another. There is a clue that the Son is distinct from the Father, yet there is fellowship between them. 2:5), The Father is not the Spirit (John 14:26; John 15:26), The Son is not the Spirit (Matt. Yet most Christians have difficulty explaining the Trinity clearly and Biblically. Those centuries were t The prologue of the Gospel of John has the strongest argument for the Trinity. 89:14; John 17:25; Rom. There would only be a contradiction if we said that God is three in the same way that He is one. Baker Books, 1995, pp. See if they can think of anything better, and be ready to discuss where different ideas might not quite work. ). Ask teenagers hard questions about the Trinity that will make them think, and dont bother trying to come equipped with the perfect answer to everything. 19:26). The fact that the Holy Spirit is a Person, not an impersonal force (like gravity), is also shown by the fact that He speaks (Hebrews 3:7), reasons (Acts 15:28), thinks and understands (1 Corinthians 2:10-11), wills (1 Corinthians 12:11), feels (Ephesians 4:30), and gives personal fellowship (2 Corinthians 13:14). For instance, the Trinity does not mean that: Instead, we need to clearly distinguish two categories (Persons and essence). 55 years on I've yet to hear or read an explanation of the Trinity that makes sense. They had to wait another 50 year for the 381 update. This law states that A cannot be both A (what it is) and non-A (what it is not) at the same time and in the same relationship. It is the same thing in three different forms. The Bible is clear that all three Persons are each one hundred percent God.