We are dealing with fact. Grace is the promise that you stand forgiven before God if you know Jesus. This triune God (or Trinity) began to allude to this aspect of His nature right in Genesis 1:26-27. We are referring to two different features of God: (1) his singular essenceor natureand (2) three Persons. And that he is manifest as three Persons.. There are many illustrations which have been offered to help us understand the Trinity. Unfortunately, there are many illustrations which are not simply imperfect, but in error. It is the Matthew 28:19 baptismal formula: Jesus said, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in thenameof the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (emphasis mine). 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. 317 subscribers in the BiblicalUnitarian community. 3 in 1: A Picture of God This one is for anyone interested in using the apple object lesson. Then share them with another Christian or genuine seeker. The Trinity Is Unique Among Monotheistic Religions Christianity is a "monotheistic" religion. There are three Persons with one divine essence! 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. Here are three I found to be really helpful. Famous pastor and authorA.W. Did your kids give each form of God different personality traits? Its okay for them to have a very limited understanding of God. After all, as I have said many times (to myself as much as others! ). While some say . Need help teaching your kids about communion, either at Sunday School or home? The Trinity expresses the belief that God is one being made up of three distinct persons who exist in co-equal essence and co-eternal communion as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit . 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.. I am fully human. Genesis 1:1 reads: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." If we look more closely at the word we translate "God," Elohim, we see it is plural. How do we come to terms with these different ideas of God? While Jesus and the Father are both God, they are different Persons. God told Moses in the Torah to tell God's people these words: M. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." ( Deuteronomy 6:4) C. Yes, that's right. The early church absolutely believed and taught the belief in a God who was three-in-one. The three most common go-to analogies for explaining the Trinity are water, an egg, and the sun. 3:17; 17:5; Luke 10:22; John 3:35; 10:15; 12:28; 17:1-26; 1 Tim. Just as ONE egg has THREE different parts - the shell, the white, the yoke - ONE God has THREE different . If youd like to get away from simple object lessons and move your child toward a deeper understanding of Gods nature, check out The Attributes of God for Kids. There would only be a contradiction if we said that God is three in the same way that He is one. Conclusion: Scripture supports the Trinity. also 1:18). They had to wait another 50 year for the 381 update. 2. Why? Therefore, it is often difficult to have a concrete definition of Person as we use it in regards to the Trinity. "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 Holy Trinity is 'the Center of Everything.'. Orthodox Christian theology has always affirmed that the one true God is triune in nature. Of course, if the triangle illustration were perfect, we would be able to comprehend God fully, but we cant. 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. 3:6. 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). The substance of God is God, not a bunch of ingredients that taken together yield deity. Yet he also proclaimed, there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live (1 Cor. Monotheism is foundational to Christianity. Trinity, in Christian doctrine, the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. (eds. Therefore, we must always endeavor to deepen our worship of God in truth as well as in our hearts. The personhood of each member of the Trinity means that each Person has a distinct center of consciousness. You cant find an earthly match for this concept. These are all qualities of personhood. And this illustration helps us understand the Trinity: This illustration shows how the doctrine of the Trinity does not divide God into three parts. Instead, it reveals that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit possess the same divine essence. But Christianity's God is unique. 5:21), making it possible for us to have a relationship with God. 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. 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. Find resources for personal or group Bible study. Geisler, N. L., and R. E MacKenzie, R. E. Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: agreements and differences. 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. As long as a shape has those three angles that add up to 180 degrees, it doesnt matter what the angles degrees are. Its okay to admit you dont know everything. Surely not. For example, it says of Christ that "in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9). Before moving on tounderstandingthe idea of one Being existing in three Persons, I will point out that theBiblical idea of the Trinity goes all the way back to the first verse in the first chapter in the first book of the Bible. See if you can let kids arrive at the notion that God isnt really made up of parts. Baker Books, 1995, pp. Principle #3: Order. 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. That means that, as Christians, we believe in only one God. You can describe the Trinity in different ways: The wordspersonsandessencerefer to entirely different features relating to God. The Trinity is like an egg. 13:14), the term Trinity does not appear. The Fathers plan for our redemption shows his great love for humankind. What does it take to begin a relationship with God? For example: God the Father is a person. Why not consider these truths and place your faith in Jesus (1 John 5:1)? 5:510; 1 Cor. However, these illustrations arent perfect, and really mature kids or teenagers (or adult new believers) could handle digging a bit deeper! Take the next step in your faith journey with resources on prayer, devotionals and other tools for personal and spiritual growth. Therefore each of the Persons into whose name we are to be baptized must be deity. 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. What is the Trinity? Ignore the urge to tie everything up with a nice little bow. Admittedly, the idea of three distinct persons/expressions that are each fully God is part of the mystery. It may seem that the Catholic Church and all the Protestant denominations dont have much in common, but they do have this creed to share. Perfect for the Bible newbie or the long-time Bible reader. 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. Since God is one in a different way than He is three, the Trinity is not a contradiction. It starts with a whisper. We can never completely understand the Trinities one essence and three Persons. Steam, water, and ice are all H20. God the Father spoke from heaven and spoke of His Son, Jesus. 2:1011; Heb. You may feel like you are drinking from a fire hydrant. This one is kinda fun for older kids who understand a bit of science. 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. But it is possible to go deeper. Other statements may at first seem contradictory but are really not. Of course, anyone can be simple if he has no facts to bother about (p. 145). Ask them to draw it on the page. It was God who took the initiative to save humankind. As a result, Jesus death covered or atoned for our sins (2 Cor. Below is the easiest way that I have ever heard it explained: God the Father is the sun. Here we will summarize some of the fruits of their labor. Girls become divided, friendships are ruined, and reputations are tarnished. 1:17; Dan. 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. "Economic" has to do with the history of salvation, and discusses the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the sending and mission of salvation. Contrary to this, the passages we have seen imply that God always was and always will be three Persons. How we seek to journey together with everyone towards a relationship with Jesus. Rather than let that frustrate you, let it encourage you. After all, theyre good questions. 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. 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. The Son and Holy Spirit are equal in deity to the Father. Omnipotence (Jer. While no church is perfect, the Trinity is still the model for the churchs unity (John 1:2123). Just hang on a little longer. It included Jesus miraculous conception in the virgin Mary (John 3:16)an act that we call the incarnation.. As youll see explained more deeply in one of the videos below, you can think of it this way: I am a human being. Divide your group into three teams and give each group a sheet of butcher paper or poster. After all, each of these illustrate the idea that God is made up of parts, and thats not really true. At this stage, your head may be swimming with all this new information about God! But a common question arises: How do the members of the Trinity differ from one another?. " Here God is a plural noun, said is in the . While it is good for us to seek understanding of the Trinity, we cannot fully comprehend God. And that knowledge can feel liberating. This is one possibility of explaining it. That is where I go back to the starting point I mentioned above. We can be adopted by the Father and united with Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit (John 1:1223; Rom. Why do so many people struggle with the doctrine of the Trinity? The Apostle Paul also affirms the doctrine of the Trinity. . Is God the same as Jesus? The important difference between complexity and incomprehension: If Christianity was something we were making up, of course, we could make it easier. God is spirit (John 4:24). If it were the other way around and we understood God completely, how would he be the sovereign God? 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. Instead, they are all identical in attributes. But that doesn't mean the concept isn't clearly taught. God is not one person who plays three different roles, as this illustration suggests. 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. Deity of Jesus: 10 Essentials You Need to Know! Christ took Gods punishment, and wrath meant for us because of our sins (Heb. Firstly, we agree that finite humankind is limited. Think about it: Finite Christians serve an eternal and infinite God. 12:32; 28:19; Luke 3:22), There is one God and three Gods (a contradiction), God is one person and three persons (a contradiction), God has one nature and three natures (a contradiction), There is a functional order within the Trinity, Bowman, R Jr. The Biblical Basis of the Doctrine of the Trinity. Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/bowman_robert/trinity/trinity.cfm#trin_1 Accessed: 1/20/2022. "The Trinity is the foundational Christian belief that God is one Being who exists in three Persons." Unpacking the Definition The word Trinity means three-in-one. To further our understanding of the distinction of persons within the one God it is best to move on to the next trinitarian principle. He sent Jesus to save us and then completed our salvation through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Eph. These questions arealwaysasked by someone who is exploring faith in Jesus. He wrote, What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.. No, the word Trinity does not appear in the Bible. So, the Trinity is incomprehensible. Then you will learn the distinction between personhood and essence or nature. Heres how the triangle analogy can help: Consider a triangle with me. Christs resurrection is variously attributed to: Multiple verses distinguish each member of the Trinity. Learn how you can know God personally. As a mom to three kids under 8, an instructional coach, and a former classroom teacher, I know a thing or two about how public schools REALLY work and the challenges we face in the United States. 1:12). ). 13: Trinity | Putting the Fun In, Faith and Finances: 5 Steps to Get Started.