Here read Matthew 28:19 John 10:28-30 John 14: 8-10 John 14:16-18 Isaiah 9:6
Although the word Trinity does not appear in the Bible (KJV), it is as good a word as any to describe the triune nature of God. The triune nature of God is a great mystery. No human can fully understand it. Nevertheless, humans should pay close attention to the exact wording of scripture as it relates to the Trinity. The limits that humans can comprehend about the Trinity is that God is one in substance, and yet also comprises three manifestations in three separate ages.
In the Old Testament the presence and power of the Father is emphasized, but the Son and the Holy Spirit are also there behind the scenes so to speak. During the 331\2 years that Jesus was on the earth, His power and presence were emphasized, but the Father and Holy Spirit were also there. The church age emphasizes the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, but the Father and Son are also here. The substance from which these three appearances emerge apparently is Love since I John 4 verses 8 and 16 clearly state that: "God is Love."
Most of this is understood, to the limit of man's ability, by the true church. Yet some misconceptions arise, not because of misunderstanding, but because of certain man-made rules about how one is to speak about the Trinity.
The conventional wisdom in the church is that one is never to speak of one person in the Trinity as if He were another. One is never to call the Father Jesus or the Holy Spirit Father and so forth. Even in prayer, one is to pray to the Father only in Jesus' name, keeping the two names strictly separate. While Jesus did teach His followers that they could pray to the Father in His name, He did not make this a command. In His prayer that He taught His disciples, He ended with a simple "Amen."
This traditional wisdom in the church does not agree with that which the scriptures actually teach. An exact reading of the Bible shows that it has no problem calling the Father Jesus or Jesus the Father or the Holy Spirit Jesus and so forth. Jesus clearly taught in Matthew 28:19 that the church is to baptize believers in the singular name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Every time the church baptizes a believer in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but keeping these names separate in its mind, it keeps its man-made rule but violates Jesus' rule. Every time, in a Spirit-filled service when someone testifies that "Jesus is here," the traditional rule is violated since that person is clearly calling the Holy Spirit Jesus. Every time a believer testifies that "Jesus is in my heart," then that person is calling Jesus the Holy Spirit. Actually, those who violate the man-made rule adhere to the Word of God, whereas those who teach the rule do not.
Many examples of the self-identification of God in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit occur in scripture. In John 10: 28-30, Jesus affirms that His believers cannot be plucked out of His or His Father's hand. Clearly, He taught that His and His Father's hand is the same hand. Jesus then re-enforced His teaching by declaring: "I and my Father are one." Undoubtedly, Jesus named Himself as the Father and the Father as Himself.
In answer to Philip's question in John 14: 8-10, Jesus flatly declares that Philip had already seen the Father by seeing Jesus. He went on to state that the Father dwells in Him and He in the Father. Jesus was absolutely teaching that He is the same person as His Father.
How could this be true if the Father was in heaven and Jesus on the earth? This is no problem with God since He exists in every time and place that has ever been or ever will be. The truth of the Trinity goes far beyond the puny ability of man to understand it. So, in order to try to cram this infinite truth into little minds, the church invented traditional rules that actually minimize the meaning of scripture instead of enhancing it. Christians would do far better by simply believing exactly that which the Bible teaches even when we do not understand it.
In John 14: 16-18, Jesus identifies Himself with the Holy Spirit. He teaches His followers that He will send the Comforter to dwell with them and be in them, and then goes on to state that He is that same Comforter. Every lost sinner who has ever repented and put his or her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ has received the Comforter who is both Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah was very bold in his description of the Trinity. In his prophecy about the Messiah coming to rule the earth, Isaiah reveals that His singular name is God and the Father. Since Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit guides believers into all truth when they read the scriptures, then the Comforter could also be called the Counsellor. Therefore, Isaiah includes the Holy Spirit as being one with the Messiah. The name Wonderful encompasses the awesome nature of God's eternal form, while the name Prince of Peace denotes the exact nature of the Messiah's reign. The millennial reign of Christ will be a time of universal peace. Thus, Isaiah includes both the eternal and universal nature of God, and all of His activities in behalf of mankind, in his name of God.
When one is careful and exact in one's reading of scripture, one will find many other examples of this same description of the Trinity.
No comments:
Post a Comment