AlwaysLoved
01-06-2007, 12:11 AM
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/00-database-info&db=easton)
Trinity
a word not found in Scripture, but used to express the doctrine of the unity of God as subsisting in three distinct Persons. This word is derived from the Gr. trias, first used by Theophilus (A.D. 168-183), or from the Lat. trinitas, first used by Tertullian (A.D. 220), to express this doctrine. The propositions involved in the doctrine are these: 1. That God is one, and that there is but one God (Deut. 6:4; 1 Kings 8:60; Isa. 44:6; Mark 12:29, 32; John 10:30). 2. That the Father is a distinct divine Person (hypostasis, subsistentia, persona, suppositum intellectuale), distinct from the Son and the Holy Spirit. 3. That Jesus Christ was truly God, and yet was a Person distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit. 4. That the Holy Spirit is also a distinct divine Person.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
"Let US make man in OUR image": Three plural pronouns, (We, Us, Our) used 6 different times in four different passages: Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa 6:8. The unanimous opinion of the apostolic Fathers was that the Father was talking to Jesus.
John 8.58..."Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." The Jews therefore said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.
As Christians we are often asked "where is the Trinity in the Bible?". While there are many great dissertations on this foundational Christian doctrine, here is a very short study that I pray will help believers better understand their own faith and also better equip them to defend it to seekers. 1PE 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
1. GOD IS ONE.
a. DEU 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: Deut. 6.5 & Luke 10.27 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
2. THE FATHER (LORD) IS GOD.
a. ISA 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. ISA 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
b. ISA 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
3. THE SON (JESUS) IS GOD.
a. JOH 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
b. JOH 10:30 I and my Father are one. JOH 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him
(The Jews knew that Jesus claim in vs. 30 was that "He was God". Ergo, they wanted to stone him, the appropriate scriptural punishment for such blasphemy.)
c. COL 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
4. THE HOLY SPIRIT (HOLY GHOST) IS GOD.
a. ACT 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? ACT 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5. GOD IS ONE.
a. EXO 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. EXO 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
SUMMARY
If one truly believes that the Bible is God's Word, and that it is without error and true and trustworthy in all aspects, then one must believe each/all the following.
a. That God is one.
b. That the Father is God.
c. That the Son (Jesus) is God.
d. That the Holy Spirit (Ghost) is God.
The only logical way to reconcile these seemingly contradictory teachings is to understand God as One God, eternally existent in Three Persons. The Doctrine of the Trinity. God Three in One. Never forget MAT 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
FINALLY
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (MAT 3:16-17)
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 KJV)**
Amen and Amen!
** Most modern translations/versions (except the NKJV) of the Bible have removed this verse or reduced it to a footnote to the text. While the doctrine of the Trinity stands firm without it, this verse is historically a part of time tested/proven Scriptural text/doctrine and is the sole singularly complete statement of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Bible. Perhaps the "oldest" manuscript is not necessarily the "best"?
COLOSSIANS 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Trinity
a word not found in Scripture, but used to express the doctrine of the unity of God as subsisting in three distinct Persons. This word is derived from the Gr. trias, first used by Theophilus (A.D. 168-183), or from the Lat. trinitas, first used by Tertullian (A.D. 220), to express this doctrine. The propositions involved in the doctrine are these: 1. That God is one, and that there is but one God (Deut. 6:4; 1 Kings 8:60; Isa. 44:6; Mark 12:29, 32; John 10:30). 2. That the Father is a distinct divine Person (hypostasis, subsistentia, persona, suppositum intellectuale), distinct from the Son and the Holy Spirit. 3. That Jesus Christ was truly God, and yet was a Person distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit. 4. That the Holy Spirit is also a distinct divine Person.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
"Let US make man in OUR image": Three plural pronouns, (We, Us, Our) used 6 different times in four different passages: Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa 6:8. The unanimous opinion of the apostolic Fathers was that the Father was talking to Jesus.
John 8.58..."Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." The Jews therefore said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.
As Christians we are often asked "where is the Trinity in the Bible?". While there are many great dissertations on this foundational Christian doctrine, here is a very short study that I pray will help believers better understand their own faith and also better equip them to defend it to seekers. 1PE 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
1. GOD IS ONE.
a. DEU 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: Deut. 6.5 & Luke 10.27 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
2. THE FATHER (LORD) IS GOD.
a. ISA 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. ISA 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
b. ISA 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
3. THE SON (JESUS) IS GOD.
a. JOH 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
b. JOH 10:30 I and my Father are one. JOH 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him
(The Jews knew that Jesus claim in vs. 30 was that "He was God". Ergo, they wanted to stone him, the appropriate scriptural punishment for such blasphemy.)
c. COL 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
4. THE HOLY SPIRIT (HOLY GHOST) IS GOD.
a. ACT 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? ACT 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5. GOD IS ONE.
a. EXO 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. EXO 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
SUMMARY
If one truly believes that the Bible is God's Word, and that it is without error and true and trustworthy in all aspects, then one must believe each/all the following.
a. That God is one.
b. That the Father is God.
c. That the Son (Jesus) is God.
d. That the Holy Spirit (Ghost) is God.
The only logical way to reconcile these seemingly contradictory teachings is to understand God as One God, eternally existent in Three Persons. The Doctrine of the Trinity. God Three in One. Never forget MAT 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
FINALLY
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (MAT 3:16-17)
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 KJV)**
Amen and Amen!
** Most modern translations/versions (except the NKJV) of the Bible have removed this verse or reduced it to a footnote to the text. While the doctrine of the Trinity stands firm without it, this verse is historically a part of time tested/proven Scriptural text/doctrine and is the sole singularly complete statement of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Bible. Perhaps the "oldest" manuscript is not necessarily the "best"?
COLOSSIANS 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.