He sanctifies us (1 Pet. The Easiest Way to Explain the Trinity | SsouthernLifestyle . The answer is they are gray and hard. 4:4). be explained away. I might end with sharing a few analogies from nature. 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. Or what are the objective characteristics that all triangles share? It has been said, Try to explain the trinity and lose your mind, try to explain away the trinity and lose your soul. Therefore, the Holy Spirit must be distinct from the Father and the Son. The answer is simple. 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). Bringing hope and resources to military families worldwide. Does Matthew 28:19 Prove the Trinity? - Life, Hope & Truth However, the Bible teaches us enough about these mysteries that we can apprehend them. How do they relate? The Son and Holy Spirit are equal in deity to the Father. After all, as I have said many times (to myself as much as others! Yet Jesus would not have referenced the Trinity unless it was important. 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. Looking for a great childrens Bible? I am also Keith Ferrin. We need you. We are dealing with fact. The three members of the Trinity are Persons. Why not consider these truths and place your faith in Jesus (1 John 5:1)? To confess that the Father, Son, and Spirit are equal in power of course means that one does not rule over the other in any way. Did your kids give each form of God different personality traits? There will always be some level of mystery to this, but when you talk about the being/nature/essence as God and the persons/expressions as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit I think we get at least a little bit closer to beginning to comprehend something we can never fully comprehend. 1:318; 1 Pet. Learn the basics of what Christians believe. Many of us say it every single Sunday morning. 3:25; Dan. While admitting the lack of conformity among believers, we must never consider it a minor issue of doctrine. How to EXPLAIN The Trinity to a New Believer | Introduction to The Fortunately, the most popular analogy of the Trinity is the triangle. And all three members of the Trinity were involved. It is crucial for properly understanding what God is like, how He relates to us, and how we should relate to Him. When Jesus answered the question, What is the greatest commandment? he prefaced the answer by quoting the. Here are the best childrens Bibles, sorted by age. So all three members of the Trinity have unique personhood. It is fundamental to our worldview. 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. Yet most Christians have difficulty explaining the Trinity clearly and Biblically. The Bible is clear that all three Persons are each one hundred percent God. How do we receive His grace? In explaining the Trinity to your friend, begin, perhaps, with the work of salvation. 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. Learn how you can know God personally. Every time the wordElohim(plural) is used throughout the Old Testament referring to the one, true God, it is used with a singular conjugation of the verb. The different roles refer to a functional order or functional subordination.. Each member of the Trinity is . Nicene Creed: An Outline of the Trinity Doctrine Having seen that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, that they are each fully God, and that there is nonetheless only one God, we must conclude that all three Persons are the same God. 3:3; Heb. 28:20; Col. 3:11), Omnibenevolent (John 13:34; Rom. Most people, including many Christians, struggle trying to apprehend the Trinity. Famous pastor and authorA.W. He is an extension of the sun and brings the sun directly to the world. 118:28, God referred to in the third person singular (he, his, him): Gen. 1:5, 10; Ex. 8:6), Jesus is called God (John 1:1-5; John 20:28; Rom. This explains how God can be both one and three. The problem with this is that it reflects a heresy called modalism. Whether an object is a rock or a triangle, we can classify it based on its objective characteristics. 139:711; Jer. Modern theologians have created a distinction between the "economic Trinity" and the "immanent Trinity.". . The first commandment says, You shall have no other gods before me (Ex. Its NOT God. While some say . Instead, they are all identical in attributes. He differs from the Father, but was and . That definition is a mouthful. Thus, they relate to each other personally the Father regards Himself as I, while He regards the Son and Holy Spirit as You. Likewise the Son regards Himself as I, but the Father and the Holy Spirit as You.. Christs resurrection is variously attributed to: Multiple verses distinguish each member of the Trinity. The New Testament lists all three Persons of the Trinity simultaneously, 6. Its not unusual for teenagers to give Jesus a bunch of loving characteristics and then put words like justice and vengeance on God the Fathers poster. But he avoids contradiction with this statement because he means that in one sense it was the best of times, but in another sense it was the worst of times. What is the Trinity? Thats where the confusion comes from. Amen. 5:21), making it possible for us to have a relationship with God. In his bookMere Christianity, C. S. Lewis points out an important distinction. 3:1617). While we cannot fully understand everything about the Trinity (or anything else), it is possible to answer questions like these and come to a solid grasp of what it means for God to be three in one. 18:20; Matt. How do we come to terms with these different ideas of God? Since God is one in a different way than He is three, the Trinity is not a contradiction. And confusing ones. It was God who took the initiative to save humankind. Can We Explain the Trinity? | Desiring God However,barais the singular conjugation of the verb. 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. 10:2831), In Johns writings (1 John 4:1314; Rev. While theconceptof the Trinity is evident in the New Testament (Matt. Thats why they wrote words like we find inJob 11:7-8, "Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? The Hebrew word for God isElohim. The prologue of the Gospel of John has the strongest argument for the Trinity. Carrying this concept over to the Trinity, it is not a contradiction for God to be both three and one because He is not three and one in the same way. Its obvious that the Trinity is important to Christianity because its the framework for one of our oldest texts that crosses multiple denominations: the Apostles Creed, written in the 5th century. After all, each of these illustrate the idea that God is made up of parts, and thats not really true. 3:1417). How To Explain The Trinity To A Child Or Teenager - Mama Manages See if you can let kids arrive at the notion that God isnt really made up of parts. 13:14), the term Trinity does not appear. But a common question arises: How do the members of the Trinity differ from one another?. Rather than let that frustrate you, let it encourage you. The Fathers plan for our redemption shows his great love for humankind. 11:3336). We should not think of God as like a pie cut into three pieces, each piece representing a Person. 5:2122; John 13:34), End-time judgment (Matt. In addition to these texts, the others we mentioned above make clear that the Personhood of the Holy Spirit is distinct from the Personhood of the Son and the Father. Grace is the promise that you stand forgiven before God if you know Jesus. 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. 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. Gods attributes are not parts of his singular divine essence. It is the revelation of who our Almighty Creator actually isnot just a god, but an infinite Being existing in eternity as three co-equal, infinite Persons, consubstantial yet distinct. "It has been said that there have been four centuries when the church's understanding of the person of Christ has been most under attack. 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. Neither should we think of the Persons as being defined by attributes added on to the being of God. Lets move on to Scriptural evidence for the Trinity. These three persons make up the one true God. We believe God is one in essence. Internship opportunities with Cru's ministries. The concept of the Trinity is often referred to during worship, which helps Christians to understand it. 4; 14; Jon. Find resources for personal or group Bible study. The triangle illustration is easy to understand, but an imperfect analogy because: Nonetheless, a triangle illustrates how there can be a three-ness and one-ness same time. And God seeks people to worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). One God? How to Know and Understand the Holy Spirit | Cru - Cru.org Rather, the being of each Person is equal to the whole being of God.[1] The divine essence is not something that is divided between the three persons, but is fully in all three persons without being divided into parts., Thus, the Son is not one-third of the being of God, He is all of the being of God. It starts with a whisper. Live in another country building relationships and ministries with eternal impact. Second, we have the son of God, Jesus. Likewise, after the Son returned to the Father (John 16:10), the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world (John 14:26; Acts 2:33). In describing the Trinity, the New Testament clearly distinguishes three Persons who are all simultaneously active. If it were the other way around and we understood God completely, how would he be the sovereign God? 15:28). I recently had some of my kids friends ask meWhat is the Trinity? Each person of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) really IS God. It is the same thing in three different forms. This is one possibility of explaining it. This is great fun to see how teenagers draw a picture of God. While the three members of the Trinity are distinct, this does not mean that any is inferior to the other. "But if I [Jesus] cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.". What is the Trinity? - Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry 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. Monotheism is foundational to Christianity. 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. 317 subscribers in the BiblicalUnitarian community. Yoto has lots of great stuff for, Read More 27 of the Best Yoto Cards for Kids (sorted by age group)Continue, If youre a Sunday School teacher or a mom hoping to instill a love of Bible learning in your children, Ive got some goodies for you! 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. We begin with a brief discussion of the doctrine in historical context, explaining more fully the nature of the problem it raises. Subjection and subordination do not mean inequality. The Son is the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. No, the wordTrinitydoes not appear in the Bible. Three separate beings, all rolled into one entity. What a challenge! " Here God is a plural noun, said is in the . Many other verses concurrently list the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. 2:1011; Heb. There are two men in their 20s who came to faith in Christ in recent weeks through the ministry of our church. The Trinity Matters because the Gospel Matters. The Bible is clear that all three Persons are each one hundred percent God. 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. Essenceis the objective set of attributes necessary to the thing being described. Our mind distinguishes each of the three leaves (the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost), but at the same time recognizes they are one shamrock. Why, if they are ALL God? For example, since the Father sent the Son into the world (John 3:16), He cannot be the same person as the Son. We will never sell your information, for any reason. These are all qualities of personhood. You cant find an earthly match for this concept. 28:18-20; 2 Cor. It's a great reminder of the three parts of the Holy Trinity! Firstly, because finite humans cant comprehend an infinite God completely, Secondly, because many people confuse Gods one, Three distinct persons are God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Firstly, unfamiliarity between essence or nature and personhood, Secondly, practical analogies that help conceptualize the Trinity, On the one hand, there is Gods singular nature, essence, or substance, And on the other, there is Gods three Persons (Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit), The sum of the three angles must be 180 degrees, The three-ness refers to the three Persons: Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, The one-ness applies to Gods unity or his single divine essence, The Trinity is a plurality of Persons and a unity of essence, God is three whos (Persons) and one what (divine essence), The triangle corresponds to Gods essence, The three corners of the triangle correspond to the three Persons of the Trinity, A triangle is finite, and God is infinite, The corners of a triangle are not persons, Understanding of the difference between Gods one divine essence and three Persons, Old Testament: Ex. Get the answers to frequently asked questions on Christian beliefs and practices. Disclaimer: I believe Trinity. How could we? It's so simple, it fits on one page. 55 years on I've yet to hear or read an explanation of the Trinity that makes sense. If someone already has an understanding based on the definition and explanation above, then these analogiesmighthelp them grasp aspects of the Trinity.
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