how to explain the trinity to a new believer how to explain the trinity to a new believer

"The Trinity is the foundational Christian belief that God is one Being who exists in three Persons.. This verse accurately states the doctrine of the Trinity that God is One God in three Persons. Get the answers to frequently asked questions on Christian beliefs and practices. (So I won't send you any.) The Trinity is first of all important because God is important. . 15:3). 317 subscribers in the BiblicalUnitarian community. Below are several of the most popular ones. That leaves us with the modern definition of the word mystery. How do we come to terms with these different ideas of God? The Holy Spirit descended upon Him to equip Him for His ministry. After all, children deal best with concrete ideas. know that I recognise only one God. 5:510; 1 Cor. Is the Trinity a contradiction? The Trinity expresses the belief that God is one being made up of three distinct persons who exist in co-equal essence and co-eternal communion as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit . 2:511). Why? 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. Let's explore each of these members. 2:11), emotions (Eph. Internship opportunities with Cru's ministries. God the Son. 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. He was sustaining and manifesting Gods immediate presence in his creation. Among the three persons of the Trinity, there is a proper order: The Father is the First Person of the Most Holy Trinity. 8:2327), Resuscitates the dead (Matt. 5:2122; John 13:34), End-time judgment (Matt. "The Trinity is the foundational Christian belief that God is one Being who exists in three Persons." Unpacking the Definition The word Trinity means three-in-one. The Trinity confuses many people. 5:7). This is girl drama, and it can be extremely harmful to girls both mentally and emotionally. How is God one? At his death on the cross, sinless Jesus chose to substitute himself in our place (Heb. The technical term in case youre interested for this wrong way of thinking about God is calledmodalism. 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. Thus, Jesus prayed to God the Father without praying to Himself. Sometimes the Spirit is treated more like a force than a Person. See, each member participated in the creation, the incarnation, and redemption. For example: The Nicene Creed is recited during every service of Holy Communion . Even wonderful parents have kids who struggle with self esteem, despite excellent parenting and a supportive home environment. After all, each of these illustrate the idea that God is made up of parts, and thats not really true. "Economic" has to do with the history of salvation, and discusses the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the sending and mission of salvation. God the Holy Spirit. 1:318; 1 Pet. Fill this out to make sure you don't miss a thing! The Trinity does not divide God into three parts. But Keith Ferrin is noteveryhuman being.. Essenceis the objective set of attributes necessary to the thing being described. (Ohand I'll send you my free guideThe Simplest Way to Study ANY Bible Passageas a "Thank you" for jumping on board!). After Christ rose from the grave, he appeared to the disciples and gave them a job to do: preach the Word to everyone. There are two other major monotheistic world religions namely Judaism and Islam. Begin and end with your object lesson, and be comfortable with the imperfect teaching. When Jesus answered the question, What is the greatest commandment? he prefaced the answer by quoting the. Most of them are less-than-helpful. 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]. 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). Thats what faith is being content with our own confusion while still knowing that God is bigger than we can comprehend. As youll see explained more deeply in one of the videos below, you can think of it this way: I am a human being. But it is not. As Christians, we derive our concept of person from the relations in the Trinity. Partnering with urban churches to meet physical and spiritual needs. After understanding the difference between essence and personhood, most objections evaporate! Lets do a quick review of the topics we have covered. More posts you may like r/TrueChristian Live in another country building relationships and ministries with eternal impact. 119; Prov. This command lists all three persons of the Trinity. The all powerful one who lives up in Heaven and either judges us mercilessly or loves us endlessly, depending on who you ask. 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. Bringing hope and resources to military families worldwide. Since our personal relationship is with Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit lies within us, what role does God play as Father? Yet Jesus would not have referenced the Trinity unless it was important. Explore resources to help you live out your life and relationships in a way that honors God. Satan existed with the angels at the beginning of creation as one of the cherubim. 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. 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. What does essence mean? 4 Visual Ways To Explain The Trinity To A Child. The most popular is probably the one found in the Great Commission: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit . What is the essence of a triangle? For instance, the Father is the first person of the Trinity. His function is superior to that of the Son and the Holy Spirit. The word Trinity does not appear even once in the Bible. Then you will learn the distinction between personhood and essence or nature. 4. 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. As I said earlier, it means the same thing as being. 2:8-9), we can become Gods children. God the Father sent God the Holy Spirit to conceive Jesus (God the Son) in the virgin Marys womb (Matt. Is referred to in the second person (you; Ps. 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. That means that, as Christians, we believe in only one God. *catholic, meaning universal here, and not a reference to the big C Catholic. "After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him.". For example: God the Father is a person. At this stage, your head may be swimming with all this new information about God! While not a typical conversation starter, this question is one of the most important we can ask in life. God is infinite. Each person of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) really IS God. During this period, it was attempted solely by using algorithmswhich are basically rules or sets of rules you tell a computer to follow. The Father is God. Two biblical teachings confirm the doctrine of the Trinity: How is that possible? Rather, everything that one Person is involved in, the other two are also involved in, one way or another. I'm an author, speaker, husband, father and ice cream lover. Principle #3: Order. Some attributes include eternal, infinite, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. We need you. Striving to see Christ-followers on every team, in every sport and in every nation. The Trinity Is Unique Among Monotheistic Religions Christianity is a "monotheistic" religion. 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. God the Father, Jesus His Son, with the Holy Spirit, they are three in one! John 1 tells us that the Word is Yeshua - that he was with God and was God from the get go, right there at creation. Do Trinity Crafts/Printables. 2:18). One helpful Scripture explicitly refers to the essence and personhood of the Trinity. Now lets go a little deeper and consider the triangles three corners (angles). Develop your leadership skills and learn how to launch a ministry wherever you are. The Father and the Son are God almighty, omnipotent God. See if you can let kids arrive at the notion that God isnt really made up of parts. Each member of the Trinity is . Of course we are speaking by analogy here, for we cannot understand this in a physical way about God. God is like the skin because He protects us. Then share them with another Christian or genuine seeker. I might end with sharing a few analogies from nature. Use the links below to jump to a specific section: The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Question: How do you explain the Trinity? 8:6), Jesus is called God (John 1:1-5; John 20:28; Rom. After all, plenty of, Read More 40 Surprising and Fun Bible Facts for Kids (with a FREE true/false printable game)Continue, Whereas most of us are pretty comfortable with our family traditions for celebrating Easter, Holy Week for kids is WAY more intimidating. Ive got you covered with all the basics, no matter your denomination. While admitting the lack of conformity among believers, we must never consider it a minor issue of doctrine. He realized Scripture alone is the only way we know about the Trinity (1 Cor. These three-in-one are called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity" In the Hindu Puranas there is this passage: 'O ye three Lords! Deity of Jesus: 10 Essentials You Need to Know! Look at what the Bible clearly shows: that there is one God ( Deuteronomy 6:4) that the Father is called God ( Ephesians 4:6 ), that Jesus (the Son) is called God ( Titus 2:13) and existed with God before creation ( John 1:1; 17:4) and the Holy Spirit is attributed . It is the same thing in three different forms. Unfortunately, it is also a doctrine that is surrounded by disagreement and controversy among believers. Therefore each of the Persons into whose name we are to be baptized must be deity. Specifically, distinguishing between Gods one essence and his three Persons. But dont get confused. It may seem like a daunting question at first, but when we think about it the truth of God's triune nature is meant to be a joy, a comfort, and a wonder to us! ETS members all confess the Father, the Son, and the Spirit to be "one in essence, equal in power and glory.". . And Scripture provides many descriptors, orattributes,of Gods singular essence or nature. If it were the other way around and we understood God completely, how would he be the sovereign God? The best way to teach the Trinity to ANYONE who is confused is with an object lesson. Lets change that! The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all fully God. Faith is recognizing that we dont have all the answers and deciding that its okay to keep believing and growing. 28:18-20; 2 Cor. He regenerates us with new spiritual life (John 3:58). I hate getting spam. Within Gods one, undivided being is an unfolding into three personal distinctions. Here are three I found to be really helpful. Therefore, it is often difficult to have a concrete definition of Person as we use it in regards to the Trinity. We are referring to two different features of God: (1) his singular essenceor natureand (2) three Persons. But what does it mean that God is gracious? This doctrine is absolutely essential to New Testament Christianity. 1:17; Dan. OrThe person were explaining it to will think that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are only parts of God (egg and sun). But Jesus did not become less than the Father during his incarnation. However, the Bible teaches us enough about these mysteries that we can apprehend them. ), "If God was small enough for my brain to fully understand, He wouldnt be big enough to save me!, The authors of the Bible understood this. Jesus himself spoke of the one-ness of the Godhead when he quoted the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4. The Son and Holy Spirit are equal in deity to the Father. 2:11), speaks (Mark 13:11), testifies (Acts 20:23), reveals (1 Cor. Best Age To Teach The Trinity To A Child. 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.". 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. After all, as I have said many times (to myself as much as others! The Bible teaches the Trinity beginning with the days of creation. 1:20-21), In salutations and benedictions (2 Cor. You will and can grasp these principles. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all fully God. You arent alone! The three-ness and one-ness are two different features. Divide your group into three teams and give each group a sheet of butcher paper or poster. 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. 12:32; 28:19; Luke 3:22), There is one God and three Gods (a contradiction), God is one person and three persons (a contradiction), God has one nature and three natures (a contradiction), There is a functional order within the Trinity, Bowman, R Jr. The Biblical Basis of the Doctrine of the Trinity. Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/bowman_robert/trinity/trinity.cfm#trin_1 Accessed: 1/20/2022. 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. 3:17), Omnipresence (Ps. And during his earthly ministry, Christ subjected himself to the Fathers will. This is very important: God is one and three at the same time, but not in the same way. 12:11), When the Holy Spirit speaks, he refers to himself in first person (Acts 13:2). Jesus is God, but He is not the Father or the Holy Spirit. There are two men in their 20s who came to faith in Christ in recent weeks through the ministry of our church. 7:28; Ps. Several analogies help us apprehend the Trinity. The apple one is kind of cool. It starts with a whisper. Among the worlds religions, the Christian faith is unique. Firstly, we agree that finite humankind is limited. You cant find an earthly match for this concept. To start, let me define what I mean when I say persons. Personhood is having intellect, emotions, and a will. The answer must be no, because the Bible also indicates that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons. So, the Trinity is incomprehensible.