|
Roundup 480 – Day Three – The Trinity Our sincerest efforts to fully grasp the concept of the Trinity will always be unsatisfied. The Trinity however is something which is very clear in Scriptures. How to explain how God can be one, co-eternally existing in three persons is beyond me and anyone else in this world. It is a fact that Christians believe by faith. Everyone on this earth has faith. It may either be faith in the laws of nature or it may be faith in God. Every man throughout his entire life accepts with understanding. Everyone is happy to use electrical appliances without understanding how electricity works. As with our understanding of the Trinity, we know it to be true without really understanding how it works. Thomas Carlyle had tried to picture the idea of a man, a deep pagan thinker, who grows up to be an adult in a dark hidden cave and for the first time leaves the cave to see the sun rise. Imagine the amazement he would experience. All at once to see the wonders of the sunrise, the trees, the rivers, the clouds, the mountains and so on. The man would stand in astonishment for quite some time I'd imagine with a million thoughts rushing through his head. The man would stand totally awe-struck at the things we see daily with total indifference. How different are we who have grown used to the wonders of God's creative power on display? It's not because of our superior insight that we have such complacency, it's our inattention to things outside of ourself. We expect all of those things to be there. After all, we deserve all of this don't we? … or have we failed to see God's provision and goodness to us on a daily level? The church has taught the doctrine of the Trinity with confidence… and so it should. There are some who doubt that God is in fact a trinity. They see it as a contradiction in the nature of God. There is always going to be much we don't understand about God until we see Him face to face. Considering that we can't even understand why leaves fall at a certain time of the year or how eggs hatch, why would the doctrine of the Trinity be a problem to us? A.W. Tozer writes this of faith when referring to the Trinity. "What God declares, the believing heart accepts without the need of further proof. Indeed to seek proof is to admit doubt, and to obtain proof is to render faith superfluous." A true believer doesn't read the word of God and then after going through a process of intellectual reasoning then arrive at faith. Faith does not require proof from science or philosophy. This isn't to say that the pursuits of Biblical scholars are futile. Those who study the word of God intently do so to find the true meaning in what has been written. The people who translate our English Bibles examine the original language from the old manuscripts and do their very best to translate into English the true meaning of what has been written. That's where their position ends. Having found the meaning, they don't then translate the Bible based on their own opinions. The word of God isn't for us to judge but for it to judge us. St Anselm wrote, "Let me seek You in longing. Let me long for You in seeking; let me find You in love and love You in finding". Love and faith are interlinked as we're looking into the attributes that God has made known about Himself. Christ often used plurality when referring to Himself, the Father and the Holy Spirit. (John 14:23 NIV) Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 10:30 NIV) I and the Father are one." (John 17:11 NIV) I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one. When thinking about the Trinity, one of the most important things to remember is that all three persons of the Godhead are equal and united. For any one of them to be less than another would suggest that one of them was incomplete or lacking in some way. In the picture of the Trinity we see three united as one in very close relationship. Our God is one who is founded upon intimate relationships. This is the relationship that he wants to have with us through Christ that we too may be united as one with Him. (Gal 3:28 NIV) There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Not only are we united as one with Christ, as the body of Christ (the church) we are to be as one with each other. (1 Cor 12:13 NIV) For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Also within marriage, we become "one flesh". This is yet another picture of the intimate relationship of God. Mark 10:7-8 (NIV)
It was Christ's claim to be one with the Father than ultimately led to his crucifixion. The doctrine of the Trinity caused quite a bit of a stir in the early centuries of the church. In the Arian controversy, 318 of the church leaders met together (many maimed and scarred from physical violence) at Nicaea and documented a statement of faith. This creed is still used today in some of the traditional Anglican churches. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ The only begotten Son of God Begotten of Him before all ages God of God, Light of Light Very God of Very God Begotten not made Being of one substance with the Father By whom all things were made This creed from 1600 years ago still stands firm as a statement of the position of Jesus Christ as part of the Godhead. The Nicene Creed also went on to say of the Holy Spirit; I believe in the Holy Spirit The Lord and giver of life Which proceeds from the Father and the Son Who with the Father and Son together Is worshipped and glorified
One verse that often brings about debate over the unity and equality of the Trinity is John 14:28 which says, (John 14:28 NIV) "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I." When Christ spoke these words, He wasn't saying that he was less God than the Father but that in His humanity he was less than the Father. To redeem mankind, Christ never left the Father. (John 1:18 NIV) No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. The unity of God made it impossible for Christ to surrender anything of His deity. When he took on a human body, He didn't degrade Himself or become less than He had been before. God can never become any less than He is. Such a thought just wouldn't be God. The only thing He surrendered was his Glorious appearance. That is what Philippians 2:6-8 is about. As a united Trinity, every act of God is never done independently of any other part of the Trinity. It's certainly not like the way that we'd get together and make a decision because they're united in will. Quite a popular belief amongst Christians is that each member of the Trinity has it's own independent functions with the Father being responsible for creation, the Son for salvation and the Spirit for regeneration. This is partially true and partially false. The falsehood is the suggestion that one member of the Trinity operates independently of the other two who are inactive in the process. God cannot divide himself. The Scriptures show that all the mighty works throughout the universe are done in harmonious unity by the three persons of the Trinity. Creation Father (Gen 1:1 NIV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Son (Col 1:16 NIV) For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. Spirit (Psa 104:30 NIV) When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. (Job 26:13 NKJV) By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. Christ's Incarnation (Luke 1:35 NIV) The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Christ's Baptism Matthew 1:16-17 (NIV)
Atonement (Heb 9:14 NIV) How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Resurrection Father (Acts 2:32 NIV) God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Son John 10:17-18 (NIV)
Holy Spirit (Rom 1:4 NIV) and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Salvation 1 Peter 1:1-2 (NIV)
Indwelling John 14:15-23 (NIV)
The doctrine of the Trinity is extremely complex so if some of this has seemed a little hard, don't lose heart. It's truth for the heart. It's way beyond our intellect. As we said before, Faith is believing something because God stated it to be true. The fact that it cannot be easily explained works in it's favour. Such a truth had to be revealed by God. There's no way we would have ever imagined it.
|
