Read more. God is spirit (John 4:24). Surely not. For example, it says of Christ that "in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9). 1:318; 1 Pet. The prologue of the Gospel of John has the strongest argument for the Trinity. Its a mystery the Bible teaches. be explained away. 28:20; Col. 3:11), Omnibenevolent (John 13:34; Rom. Wayne Grudem explains: But if each person is fully God and has all of Gods being, then we also should not think that the personal distinctions are any kind of additional attributes added on to the being of God . The Father and the Son are God almighty, omnipotent God. Amen. Actually, March 17 commemorates St. Patrick's death, actually. Lets apply what weve learned to the Trinity based on the graphic. Third, Christians believe that the entire New Testament is inspired. God the Holy Spirit. Yet most Christians have difficulty explaining the Trinity clearly and Biblically. Two biblical teachings confirm the doctrine of the Trinity: How is that possible? A triangle must have three sides three corners (angles), and the sum of the three angles must be 180 degrees. Thats what faith is being content with our own confusion while still knowing that God is bigger than we can comprehend. We cannot entirelycomprehendan infinite God and these mysteries (Rom. What we believe about the gospel and our call to serve every nation. Its a clear and concise explanation that works great for kids. Obviously we cannot, for Scripture is clear that there is only one God: There is no other God besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. He exists as a Trinity. How could we? You arent alone! God the Father, Jesus His Son, with the Holy Spirit, they are three in one! And yet, we run into the same problem again, because God isnt made up of parts. In his bookMere Christianity, C. S. Lewis points out an important distinction. I am also fully Keith Ferrin. The Bible teaches that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. Christianity is a monotheistic religion. 119; Prov. Lets go back to the Trinity triangle graphic, and you will see: By now you understand that the three Persons of the Trinity equally share Gods essence. These verses make it impossible to deny their individuality and deity. 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). . 2:511). They are all eternal. It has been said, Try to explain the trinity and lose your mind, try to explain away the trinity and lose your soul. How to Explain the Trinity to an Unbeliever The Village Church - Flower Mound 118K subscribers 36K views 5 years ago The Trinity is confusing even to most Christians, so we want to pull the. The word Trinity is never explicitly mentioned in the Bible; however, countless scriptures mention all three forms of God. If Jesus is God, why do the Gospels record instances where He prayed to God? 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. We can discern and apprehend what it is. But it is possible to go deeper. They have eternally (John 17:5, 24) sought to glorify each other (Phil. Modern theologians have created a distinction between the "economic Trinity" and the "immanent Trinity.". Deity of Jesus: 10 Essentials You Need to Know! Nothing is more astonishing, more challenging, and more potentially life-transforming than knowing God.". When the global church comes together then powerful things can happen. Nonetheless, while recognizing the distinct roles that each Person has, we should never think of their roles as so separate that the other Persons are not involved. The The truth is always new, fresh, and exciting to the believer in Christ. The important difference between complexity and incomprehension: If Christianity was something we were making up, of course, we could make it easier. They had to wait another 50 year for the 381 update. The concept of the Trinity is often referred to during worship, which helps Christians to understand it. 4; 14; Jon. Hes the one who walked the Earth blamelessly, performing miracles, and extending mercy and love. The Trinity isn't some complicated distraction from the simple gospelit's actually part of the gospel. The doctrine is critical, even if not easily comprehended. . understand the doctrine of the Trinity. 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. I am also Keith Ferrin. In sum, the essence or nature of anything is what it is. The fact that the Holy Spirit is a Person, not an impersonal force (like gravity), is also shown by the fact that He speaks (Hebrews 3:7), reasons (Acts 15:28), thinks and understands (1 Corinthians 2:10-11), wills (1 Corinthians 12:11), feels (Ephesians 4:30), and gives personal fellowship (2 Corinthians 13:14). For instance, each Person: Scripture often names all three members of the Trinity together. While Jesus and the Father are both God, they are different Persons. As youll see explained more deeply in one of the videos below, you can think of it this way: I am a human being. 3. For instance, the Trinity does not mean that: Instead, we need to clearly distinguish two categories (Persons and essence). 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. In the early 2000s, people began using a new approach called "deep . 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. Therefore, the Holy Spirit must be distinct from the Father and the Son. John introduces us to the Trinity in John 1:1- "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God.". It is understandable that our finite minds cannot grasp an infinite God. Need help teaching your kids about communion, either at Sunday School or home? Gods essence is His being. And this teaching gives us a glimpse into the incomprehensible greatness of God. He is an extension of the sun and brings the sun directly to the world. He sent Jesus to save us and then completed our salvation through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Eph. They are different Persons, not three different ways of looking at God. Within a week,, Read More Is It Normal that My 4 Year Old Can Read? 8:26), comprehends (1 Cor. 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. How is God different? The Trinity is Christianity's most unique, defining, incomprehensible, and awesome mystery. Omnipotence (Jer. Ive been thinking about it a lot, doing some research to see how people smarter than I have explained the Trinity, and come to a better understanding of the Trinity andhow to explain the Trinity in simpler terms. He is one in essence. 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. While some say . The Trinity doctrine developed over hundreds of years and was influenced by the teachings of pagan Greek philosophers. The word "trinity" is a term used to denote the Christian doctrine that God exists as a unity of three distinct, simultaneous persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These are all qualities of personhood. 31:3; John 3:16; 1 John 4:8), Righteous (Ps. And during his earthly ministry, Christ subjected himself to the Fathers will. Why, if they are ALL God? This one is kinda fun for older kids who understand a bit of science. You cant find an earthly match for this concept. 3:1617). 4. For instance: Additionally, all three members of the Trinity participate together in several critical events. A beautiful mystery. In other words, what are the objective attributes or properties that make up all rocks? (Againwere trying to grasp something that isnt fully grasp-able.). You will and can grasp these principles. Our fellowship with God should be enhanced by consciously knowing that we are relating to a tri-personal God! We baptize into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We will never sell your information, for any reason. A simpler way to talk about the Trinity is through "God grammar.". After all, so much happens in the week leading up to the resurrection of Christ. This is absolutely true. Everything in Christian theology and in the believer's life finally comes back to who God is: the divine nature, the persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The concept of the Trinity is that we have God in three forms - a union of three. 2:17). The word Trinity does not appear even once in the Bible. The answer is simple. Jesus carried out these creative decrees (John 1:3; Col. 1:16). Or what are the objective characteristics that all triangles share? How to Support Gifted Readers, 27 of the Best Yoto Cards for Kids (sorted by age group), 40 Surprising and Fun Bible Facts for Kids (with a FREE true/false printable game), Holy Week for Kids: How to Teach Beyond Easter Sunday, 15 Powerful Self Esteem Activities for Kids to Do at Home and in School. Use your hobbies and interests to find the best place for you to serve. My Starting Point for Trying to Explain the Trinity, The Simplest but Still Clear Explanation for the Trinity, The 3 Most Common Trinity Analogies (and their limitations). Theologian R.C. But it also raises many difficult questions. Jesus (the Son) is God. Often it is objected that If Jesus is God, then he must have prayed to himself while he was on earth. But the answer to this objection lies in simply applying what we have already seen. Explore answers to life's biggest questions. Second, we have the son of God, Jesus. The three most common go-to analogies for explaining the Trinity are water, an egg, and the sun. 118:28, God referred to in the third person singular (he, his, him): Gen. 1:5, 10; Ex. In fact, would Jesus have us baptize in the name of a mere creature? 20:3; cf. 10:2831), In Johns writings (1 John 4:1314; Rev. The late theologian Herman Bavinck has stated something very helpful at this point: The persons are modes of existence within the being; accordingly, the Persons differ among themselves as the one mode of existence differs from the other, and using a common illustration as the open palm differs from a closed fist.[4], Because each of these forms of existence are relational (and thus are Persons), they are each a distinct center of consciousness, with each center of consciousness regarding Himself as I and the others as You. Nonetheless, these three Persons all consist of the same stuff (that is, the same what, or essence). 5:510; 1 Cor. This doctrine is absolutely essential to New Testament Christianity. Matthew 12:28. We are referring to two different features of God: (1) his singular essenceor natureand (2) three Persons. A triangle must have three different corners in order to be one triangle. . Or stated simply, the triangles what-ness.. See if you can let kids arrive at the notion that God isnt really made up of parts. But analogies cannot entirely explain the mystery of God. 5:2122; John 13:34), End-time judgment (Matt. To start, let me define what I mean when I say persons. Personhood is having intellect, emotions, and a will. Theologians have pointed out that if it were not true, the Bible would be unreliable, Christ would not be divine, and His death on the cross would not atone for our sins, being merely the death of a martyr. All three members of the Trinity have these characteristics. The Holy Trinity is 'the Center of Everything.'. Then, ask them to write words on the poster that make up the character of God. That's the one we think of as the Father. 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. 1. The origin of the doctrine of the Trinity is the Bible . In this blog post, we are going to discuss the Holy Trinity in simple terms. This is just an egg, or an apple, or H2O. Showing God in action in and through His people. They are not merely modes or manifestations of the same person (as Oneness theology incorrectly asserts) who sometimes acts as Father, sometimes as Son, and sometimes as Spirit. 8:1417). The Hebrew word for God isElohim. Their prime usefulness it to show the mystery is not contradictory. Christ took Gods punishment, and wrath meant for us because of our sins (Heb. All will play a role in the events mentioned in Revelation. I wont go into all of the verses here (simply type bible verses about the Trinity into Google and youll find plenty). We exist to worship God. Principle #3: Order. 12:11), When the Holy Spirit speaks, he refers to himself in first person (Acts 13:2). On the other hand, we must say that the Persons are real, that they are not just different ways of looking at the one being of GodThe only way it seems possible to do this is to say that the distinction between the persons is not a difference of "being" but a difference of "relationships." The Trinity is important to Christians because it reminds us that God is all-powerful, walked this Earth as a perfect human who can relate to our pain, and also lives on today in our hearts. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. When Jesus answered the question, What is the greatest commandment? he prefaced the answer by quoting the. The personhood of each member of the Trinity means that each Person has a distinct center of consciousness. The only way humans can know about these mysteries is because the Bible teaches them. Now lets dig into these imperfect yet better than nothing representations of the Trinity for kids. As a former youth minister and childrens minister, Ive already done your research! 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. Looking for a great childrens Bible? God is not one person who plays three different roles, as this illustration suggests. Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion about the Trinity. All three Persons of the Trinity are God. 6:11; Gal. Lets change that! What a challenge! In all transparency, I feel like I did a pretty mediocre job of explaining the Trinity to them in a way they could grasp. We define personhood by three key characteristics: Now that you understand the critical distinction, you know that essence is what. And you know personhood is who.. Best Age To Teach The Trinity To A Child. The Bible teaches the Trinity beginning with the days of creation. 2:5), The Father is not the Spirit (John 14:26; John 15:26), The Son is not the Spirit (Matt. Satan existed with the angels at the beginning of creation as one of the cherubim. 4:6; James 2:19; Jude 25. In brief, how we view God will profoundly impact our everyday lives. 9:5; Col. 2:9), The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:34; 2 Cor. 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. How do we know whats age-appropriate for them to understand? The Trinity does not divide God into three parts. Show them that there are three parts: seeds, flesh, and skin. After all, if the trinitarian nature of God is not in the Bible, why bother talking about it at all? 1:12). Unsubscribe at any time. Its probably the most classic Trinity object lesson, but its not my favorite. He is beyond us. And likewise with the Holy Spirit. This is great fun to see how teenagers draw a picture of God. To help us do that, here are two reasons why the Trinity matters. If we were to translate it . 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. Weve made a comparison between this object and the Trinity. The Trinity is a mystery beyond our comprehension (Isa. Founder & Teacher, desiringGod.org. This post is full of Bible facts for kids that will spark the imagination, encourage lots of good questions, and even inspire some Bible reading. But how can finite humans know anything about Gods infinite essence? He is also referred to in third-person singular pronouns (John 14:26), He engages in actions only a person can do: He searches (1 Cor. This leads us to investigate more closely a very helpful definition of the Trinity which I mentioned earlier: God is one in essence, but three in Person. 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. What is a functional order or subordination? It means that a Trinity member submits himself to one or both of the other members. No, the word Trinity does not appear in the Bible. 10:57), The Holy Spirit indwells every Christian. 1:2;). Assign each group with one of the Godheads: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), or the Holy Spirit. 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. Sigh. Monotheism is foundational to Christianity. This is girl drama, and it can be extremely harmful to girls both mentally and emotionally. Since God is one in a different way than He is three, the Trinity is not a contradiction. Its three things, but all are complete on their own. 4:4). 2) It makes no sense 3) The doctrine is rooted in ancient pagan Babylon 4) Jesus himself said he is God's SON; not God himself as the Trinity teaches There are two other major monotheistic world religions namely Judaism and Islam. Because of Gods nature, several mysteries exist within our faith. 1:18; Luke 1:2635). Subjection and subordination do not mean inequality. 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. For if we deny this, we have denied Gods unity and affirmed that there is more than one being of God (i.e., that there is more than one God). Somehow Gods being is so much greater than ours that within his one undivided being there can be an unfolding into interpersonal relationships, so that there can be three distinct persons.[5]. 92:8) and third person (he, his, him) singular pronouns (1 Kings 18:39). There is a clue that the Son is distinct from the Father, yet there is fellowship between them. 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. "Economic" has to do with the history of salvation, and discusses the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the sending and mission of salvation. Just like anything else, some kids have to work hard for what comes easily to, Read More 15 Powerful Self Esteem Activities for Kids to Do at Home and in SchoolContinue. That is ok when it comes to rocks and triangles. After all, theyre good questions. 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. 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. 2:8-9), we can become Gods children. God the Father. Have a great discussion about it! Here are three I found to be really helpful. Genesis 1:1says this: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.. The early church absolutely believed and taught the belief in a God who was three-in-one. 1:2), Jesus as God (Titus 2:13), and the Holy Spirit as God (Acts 5:3-4). The Father is not one-third of the being of God, He is all of the being of God. That definition is a mouthful. A rumor is started, and it spreads like wildfire. I work hard to produce evidence-based information about school for both teachers and parents, and to produce and share resources that can help at home and in the classroom. Most people, including many Christians, struggle trying to apprehend the Trinity. Reaching students and faculty in middle and high school. 19:26). Egg A single egg is made up of the yolk, the whites, and the shell. He brings all light and life to the world. But the Holy Spirit is not an it, but a He (see John 14:26; 16:7-15; Acts 8:16). Striving to see Christ-followers on every team, in every sport and in every nation. This explains how God can be both one and three. The problem with this is that it reflects a heresy called modalism. The second point of clarification has to do with personhood. 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. 7:28; Ps. The Bible is full of Scripture speaking of there being only one God (seeDeuteronomy 6:4for starters), as well as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all being God. View our top Cru resources in more than 20 languages. God is one in a certain way (essence) and three in a different way (person). That leaves us with the modern definition of the word mystery. How can three and one refer to the same God? What we do mean by Person is something that regards himself as I and others as You. So the Father, for example, is a different Person from the Son because He regards the Son as a You, even though He regards Himself as I. Thus, in regards to the Trinity, we can say that Person means a distinct subject which regards Himself as an I and the other two as a You. These distinct subjects are not a division within the being of God, but a form of personal existence other than a difference in being.[3]. Thats where the confusion comes from. Being Gods child, we can worship the Father and Jesus through the Spirit (John 4:2324; Phil. And certainly not if it were a contradiction. I'm an author, speaker, husband, father and ice cream lover. Ignore the urge to tie everything up with a nice little bow. Within Gods one, undivided being is an unfolding into three personal distinctions. Second, notice that each Person must be deity because they are all placed on the same level. The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to the Christian faith. 1:8). 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. Is God the same as Jesus? In order for something to be contradictory, it must violate the law of noncontradiction. We hate SPAM. After Christ rose from the grave, he appeared to the disciples and gave them a job to do: preach the Word to everyone. The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. What does it take to begin a relationship with God? This should make it clear why it is so important to understand that all three Persons are the same essence. Further, we clearly should not think of God as consisting of anything other than divinity. And that he is manifest as three Persons.. Are these just three different ways of looking at God, or simply ways of referring to three different roles that God plays?
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