At Sonlight Student Forums, we were discussing the Trinity with each other and two unbelievers. Those two didn’t understand how one being could be three, all at the same time. Really, it’s HARD to understand the Trinity, and I think it is more important to ACCEPT it than to understand it, because we are required to accept God for life, but not to fully understand him, because he is beyond human understanding. To them, the whole Trinity thing must have sounded crazy!
I mean, can you imagine? You’re on a internet chat room, surrounded by Christian teens that are – gulp – homeschooled! YIKES!
I described the Trinity something like this (except for the fact that my interests have changed, so I have replaced them with the following). I am Melissa. I’m a fashion guru, but I’m also a writer, tree-hugger, animal-rights activist, Narnia geek. I’m a semi-vegetarian but I can’t resist BBQ ribs. Am I no longer Melissa? No. I’m Melissa, with different personalities. They liked that example.
But the other day, when I was supposed to be absorbed in algebra, my mind started wandering from fractions and x’s and o’s to one of those several hundred rabbit trails I tour every once in a while. Couldn’t I come up with a better example? IS there a better example? Or, if not better, at least another, to make it really clear? And why does Maddy refuse to accept that I hate hot dogs? All these things I smelled along the trail, and then I finally found the bunny.
I’m Melissa. Like you (hopefully!), I have eyes, a right arm, and a nose (a very talented one at that – but that’s another story). I use my eyes for seeing. That is their purpose. I use my right arm for drawing and lifting things and for pressing the semi-colon on the keyboard. That is my right arm’s purpose. I use my nose for smelling – the roses, burnt toast, the barn, my brother’s bathroom, my dog who will get a desperately needed bath for Christmas. My eyes, right arm, and nose – these are all parts of me. They are not separate – there is only one me. These are just different parts of me used for different purposes.
God has 3 different parts. God the Father, used for creating and commanding and sorting things out. The Holy Spirit, giving people peace and such. Jesus the Son, the earthly part of God – how he appears on earth, with a human body that went through real exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, and immense pain. Each part is part of God, but each part has a different purpose.
I hope that made it a little easier for you to understand. Remember that God does not require you to understand him completely, but to simply believe.
The Trinity IS a hard doctrine. I like to really understand things, but I have had to give some wiggle room here, because I figure God is just more than my wee brain can handle.
ReplyDeleteThe Bible teaches three seemingly-contradictory concepts:
1. There is only one God.
2. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each God.
When I first became a believer, I was what is a called a modalist. That is, I believed the Father, Son, and HS were different aspects or modes of God. It would be like saying that I am father, son, and husband. Those are different ways that you can relate to me. Then I learned there was one more thing about God.
3. There is a subject-object relationship between the persons of the Trinity. That means that there are statements in the Bible where one person is the subject of the sentence and another is the object. Like Jesus prayed to God or Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. That doesn't make sense if the Trinity are just aspects of God. Going back to my analogy, it would be like saying that Jeff the husband sent Jeff the father in to deal with the kids. That just isn't a normal way to speak. That means that God the Father, God the Son, and God the HS are different persons (or personalities), yet they are all one God. (I agree, it is hard to get your head around, but that is what the Bible says.)
I've heard it said that God is one What and three Whos.
Augustine, a famous philosopher said something like, "A God that you can completly understand is an idol.
ReplyDeleteI like your example of the trinity. - Bob
Great examples!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I know you don't like hot dogs, I just don't understand why, they like THE BEST food on earth! (besides mac & cheese. Note, I never said the healthiest)
Also, I hope that you also have a left arm, since I've seen you last, (Thursday) you still had it in tact. Who knows, mabey you got attacked by a shark since then? :)
(I feel really, weird right now. Everyone is talking about the Bible, and I'm talking about hot dogs and sharks. Sorry. Nxt time I'll de better.)
The below verse speaks a lot about who Jesus really is.
ReplyDeleteIn John 8:58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
There are a lot more chapters and verses mentioned in the below website along with music, speeches and praise and worship.
http://jesustrinity.blogspot.com
Jesus is God. He is alive forever.
The questions usually asked are:-
1) Did Jesus really exist?
2) Is Jesus God?
3) If Jesus is God, then why did He keep praying to the Father in Heaven? How can the Father and Jesus be one God.? Why did Jesus have to suffer on the Cross?
4) What is the Holy Spirit?
It would not be possible to give a short answer to these questions .
I suggest you visit the below website.
After visiting the below website, you would get a lot of answers.
http://jesustrinity.blogspot.com