WHY I BELIEVE IN TRINITY Pt.3
2 Cor 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
IS THE FATHER THESAME AS THE SON AND SON SAME AS THE SPIRIT?
The critics of our trinitarian doctrine often refuse to accept that it is not only a new testament doctrine but a revelation that has been from the pages of old testament. The writings of the old testament prophets distinguished between the personalities in the trinity. Moses, the man who was entrusted with the law(Torah) began by revealing this truth in the book of Genesis. In the old testament, "LORD" is distinguished from "Lord": "Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah"(Genesis 19:24 NLT). Anytime you see "LORD" in capital letters, it is a reference to God the father. Consider the rendering of the same word in Psalms 2:7, "I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee"( Psalm 2:7 KJV). In this scripture, it is clear that the LORD( God the father) has a Son referring to Christ. Those who doubt the Sonship of Christ can readily see that the relationship between God the father and God the Son is clearly shown here. Christ is God's only begotten son while we are adopted sons. The Spirit is distinguished from the "LORD": "The LORD( God the father) replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the (Holy) Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him"( Numbers 27:18 NLT, Emphasis mine). What did you observe? God the father(LORD) spoke to Moses about ordaining Joshua for leadership because he had the Holy Spirit in him. The personalities in the Godhead are distinguished from one another.
In the new testament, Jesus distinguished between the Father and the Spirit. In John 14:16-17, He said, "And I will ask the FATHER, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the HOLY SPIRIT, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you"(John 14:16-17 NLT). Jesus is not the father neither is He the Spirit. All the times Jesus spoke to the Father in the Gospels, He wasn't speaking to Himself but to another person in the Trinity- the Father. The personalities in the holy Trinity are distinguished from another yet we have one God existing in the three of them. That's why that popular hymn says, "God in three persons, blessed Trinity". Hallelujah!!! The scriptures confirm this truth from the old testament to the new testament. The proof of this doctrine is to dwell on the sufficiency of scriptures that teaches it not on human or logical reasoning.
Don't forget the Shema, it is the declaration of Jews found in Deuteronomy 6:4 which says, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:". This declaration is what the Jews call Shema. It is a declaration that affirms that God is one. In Mark 12:29(ESV), Jesus reaffirmed thesame truth saying: "Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one". We believe in one God in three persons and nothing is contradictory in this. The Father is God: "But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval”( John 6:27 NLT), the Son is also God: "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. AND HE IS GOD, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen"( Romans 9:5 NLT), the Holy Spirit is also God: "Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”(Acts of the Apostles 5:3-4 NLT).
CONFESSION: I believe in one God in three persons. I believe in the unity of the Godhead. I anchor my faith on the doctrine of Christ handed to the apostles and prophets. I refuse to buy into demonic logic and lies about the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit. I stay on the revealed word of God for my profiting in Jesus name. Amen.
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