Trinity?

canman32

New Member
I was hoping someone could help me understand a few things when it comes to the Trinity? I believe in the Trinity but sometimes I get a little confused. When Jesus was on the cross and he said "My God my God why have you forsaken me?" Wouldn't he be talking to himself? I ask that because Jesus also said, "When you have seen me you have also seen the father." Then Jesus says, "I will sit at the right hand of God the Father". Are they one or three different spirits? How can God the Son (Jesus) be fully, completely God. God the Father be fully, completely God. And God the Holy Spirit be fully, completely God. Yet there is only one God? Is it OK for me to ask these questions? I almost feel like I should just be faithful but, my human mind can't help but wonder.
 

mbrown1219

Heaven's Stables
http://www.gotquestions.org/Tritheism-Trinity.html

http://www.blogos.org/theologyapologetics/trinity.php

I spend a lot of time researching questions at GotQuestions.org Perhaps the above articles will be helpful to you in your quest to understand the nature of God as well as a human can understand it. We have finite minds though, and He is infinite. His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts much higher than our thoughts. So like the Apostle Paul said: "Now we see darkly as through a glass, but then we shall see Him as He is." (Paraphrased, see scripture references below) Some day soon we will be made perfect in the presence of our Savior and we will see all things clearly. Until then, keep struggling with it and the Holy Spirit will teach you!


http://biblehub.com/isaiah/55-8.htm
http://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/13-12.htm
 

mattfivefour

Well-Known Member
Let us first understand that we cannot really understand the Trinity. It is a concept that is at the very core of what is God and our human minds are never going to be able to fully understand it ... at least not until we get to Heaven. That said, we can grasp a basic understanding.

God is ONE in essence. That is to say, there is no separation in nature, purpose, will, or action in the Godhead. Yet while one in essence, God is manifest in three Persons. This is the mystery we cannot fully comprehend. Yet scripture makes it clear that this is true.

So, why three Persons? Again, the reason and the mechanism is beyond our comprehension, but we can understand the basics of how they function. However, please understand that while we are discussing their different functions, the persons of God are so of the same essence that what one conceives, wills, and performs, is common to all three. In other words, while there is a separation of role and function, there is absolutely no separation of their essential being. So, with that in mind, here is a basic outline of their roles and functions.

The Father is the One who wills what shall be. The Son is the One who represents (manifests, communicates) that to man. The Holy Spirit is the One who supplies the power to do what the Father wills.

Imagine identical triplets. They look the same, they sound the same, and they share a psychological and emotional bond. What one thinks, the others think; what one feels, the others feel. (Such a bond has actually been recorded in the case of some identical twins and triplets.)

Now, imagine they decide to start a business. They all agree on its purpose. One triplet becomes the CEO. As Chief Executive Officer he decides on the direction of the enterprise. One triplet becomes the CIO, and as the Chief Information Officer he facilitates communication between the clients and the corporation. One triplet becomes the COO, and as the Chief Operating Officer he provides the drive necessary to ensure that the corporate purpose, the goals of the entire enterprise are met. All three have different roles, but they are united as one in their common nature and purpose.

Now, there are a lot of flaws with this analogy (all analogies fall short and eventually break down), but it gives a very basic framework in which to understand the Godhead ... though at the most rudimentary level. And I believe that may be sufficient to answer your questions.

I hope this helps a little. If not, ask some follow-up questions. Genuine attempts at learning are never inappropriate.
 
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livin_in_the_Son

Well-Known Member
The Father is the One who wills what shall be. The Son is the One who represents (manifests, communicates) that to man. The Holy Spirit is the One who supplies the power to do what the Father wills.
I've heard another way to explain the Son's role is: that He gave us the Word, that tells us what the Father wills, or wants. Since John 1:1 tells us that In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (emphasis mine) the Son is the Word, and therefore it's the Son that is communicates thru the Word helps us to understand what the Father wills.

Excellent post Adrian truly.
 
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mattfivefour

Well-Known Member
Also, canman32 you are one person, but you can have 3 different roles so to speak. Such as a husband, father, and brother. Yet you are still 1. Godhead is used in these scriptures which represent the 3 in 1. I John 5:7-8
This is a common illustration, sis,; but remember that God is not one person with three separate roles. He is three separate persons who each have separate roles while all being one in essence. That's why I avoid the one person with three roles illustration because, while it shows that we each appear differently to different people (husband, son, father, employee, friend, etc), we are still only one person. I also avoid the popular apple example. In this one, we point to an apple and show it has skin, flesh, and pips (seed): three different things, yet one apple. The problem with this example is that the skin alone is not fully the apple; neither is the flesh; and neither is the seed (except in an apple's most nascent form,) while each part of God is fully God in all of His majesty and power.
 

kobaan

Member
Great articles and good information.
As for me...I don't understand anything whatsoever about a car engine, but I get in and drive everyday. Nor do I understand electricity but I can't deny its existence. I guess that's how I can reconcile the existence of the Trinity without total understanding.
 

Hol

Worships Him
An important aspect to our triune God is that He always had fellowship. Allah, the Muslim deity would have had no fellowship, so created creatures. As for us joining the relationship it is only because He wanted us, never did He require creation to love. Our God is love, and love is not a solitary thing.
 

livin_in_the_Son

Well-Known Member
I think that you hit the nail on the head Hol. BUT, maybe not just because of fellowship. Our God, the TRUE GOD... is real, Jesus is alive and not dead. All the other fake religions worship a "dead" deity. Mohammad is dead, Joseph Smith is dead, Jim Jones is dead, (even the Dahli Lama is dead... even if people claim he was reincarnated... the fact remains that he was/is dead) Our Lord isn't distant, and He desires a relationship with us, His creation.

Gen. 1: 27 So God created man in His own image. In the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.

God created us in His image... that means that He likes us, because He made us to look just like Him.

Gen. 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God saw that creating man was a good thing.

Gen. 3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

God walked in the garden, so that tells us that He wanted to be close to us.

And God did in fact command His creation to love. Jesus tells us in Matt. 22: 37, 38 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment
 

DanLMP

Well-Known Member
Another problem we have as human beings is not understanding how 1 thing can be 3 things at one time. We don't easily see any physical object that we perceive as being three in one.
Yet, within the physical world, those things do exist.

This is an exert from "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus" by Nabeel Qureshi:

Projected in the front of the room were three large depictions of nitrate in bold black and white. We were studying resonance, the configuration of electrons in certain molecules. The basic concept of resonance is easy enough to understand, even without a background in chemistry. Essentially, the building block of every physical object is an atom, a positively charged nucleus orbited by tiny, negatively charged electrons. Atoms bond to one another by sharing their electrons, forming a molecule . Different arrangements of the electrons in certain molecules are called “resonance structures .” Some molecules , like water, have no resonance while others have three resonance structures or more, like the nitrate on the board. Although the concept was easy enough to grasp, the reality proved to be baffling. Mrs. Adamski concluded her lesson by commenting, “These drawings are just the best way to represent resonance structures on paper, but it’s actually much more complicated. Technically, a molecule with resonance is every one of its structures at every point in time, yet no single one of its structures at any point in time.”

Qureshi, Nabeel (2014-02-11). Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity (p. 190). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
 

Geri7

Well-Known Member
Another problem we have as human beings is not understanding how 1 thing can be 3 things at one time. We don't easily see any physical object that we perceive as being three in one.
Yet, within the physical world, those things do exist.

This is an exert from "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus" by Nabeel Qureshi:

Well, you can always use the incredible edible egg as an example. It has an outer shell, the whites and the yoke.
 

NewFollower

New Member
In my personal view..Trinity was invented by man.God is just one... I just don't like the term Trinity.

What is your view about these other Trinitarian Gods? What's the difference between Christian Trinity and other Trinitarian Gods.?

The Roman Pagan Trinity of Isis, Horus, and Seb
Trinity God Cerberus of Greek and Roman Mythology
The Hindu trinity is of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

more info here
 

mattfivefour

Well-Known Member
These pagan trinities are all separate gods. Just a poor imitation by Satan of the true Godhead. The Creator of all things is a Triune God. Not three separate Gods but one God in three Persons.

The Trinity is no invention of man. It is the clearest of doctrines as presented in the Bible. We clearly see God the Father, described and at work; we clearly see God the Son, described and at work; and we clearly see God the Holy Spirit, described and at work. In places we even see (and/or hear of) them together, eliminating the possibility of them being different manifestations of one Supreme Being. Check out Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; John 1:1-4; 16-17,26; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 5:7-8.
 
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