Statement of Trinitarinism

BRIEF STATEMENT OF TRINITARIANISM

I believe that there is only one God. (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 45:57, 1 Corinthians 8:4) who is perfect in all his attributes, one in essence, yet eternally existing in three separate and distinct persons, shown to us as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14) each is worthy of worship, and each is worthy of obedience.

DETAILED EXPOSITION ON TRINITARIANISM

I believe in one true God[i] shown to us in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit[ii]. The three persons of the Godhead are one in essence, yet each is entirely God in nature, in attribute, in Glory, in worthiness to receive worship, and in the worthiness of obedience[iii]. Each is equal; each has always been and will always be[iv].

Some of the names of God are Adonai[v],  Elohim[vi], and Yahweh[vii]. 

I believe the triune God to be Perfect[viii], Immutable[ix], Eternal[x], Omniscient[xi], Omnipotent[xii], Omnipresent[xiii]; God is true[xiv], Holy[xv], Just[xvi], Good[xvii], Faithful[xviii], Loving[xix], Merciful[xx] , and Gracious[xxi] ; I also believe that God is beyond the comprehension of man[xxii].

God the Father

God the Father is Omniscient[xxiii], Omnipotent[xxiv], Omnipresent[xxv], Eternal[xxvi],  Just[xxvii], Holy[xxviii], Love[xxix], True[xxx], Sovereign[xxxi] , and Immutable[xxxii].

God the Son

Jesus existed from the beginning[xxxiii], Existed before Abraham[xxxiv], Existed before time[xxxv], Claimed to be equal with God[xxxvi], Forgave sin[xxxvii], Raised the dead[xxxviii], has the authority to Judge[xxxix], Created all Things[xl], Has all authority[xli], The Beginning, and the End[xlii], Omniscient[xliii], Omnipresent[xliv], Worshipped by men[xlv], The same essence as the Father[xlvi].

God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is Omniscient[xlvii], Omnipresent[xlviii], Regenerative[xlix], Omnipotent[l], Eternal[li], and Life-Giving[lii].

God the Father is recognized as God[liii]. Jesus Christ is Recognized as God[liv], and the Holy Spirit is recognized as God[lv].

Jesus is fully God and fully Man[lvi]. He is not human as we are; he is human without the fall or curse. [lvii] His two natures do not function independently of each other, and he has voluntarily limited his divine attributes[lviii].

Jesus became, by his nature, the perfect firstborn, the payment for our sins as outlined in Leviticus chapter 4. Jesus also became our high priest on the order of Melchizedek[lix]. He is our sacrifice, our High Priest, our intercessor, our Judge[lx], our King[lxi].

The debate about the Trinity has continued since the beginning of Christianity; Gregory of Nyssa presented his arguments against the heresies about the Godhead around 380. Gregory of Nyssa countered the Arians who claim Jesus is a created being and, as such, a lessor god[lxii]

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRINITARIANISM

MINISTRY EMPHASIS: TEACHING/ADULT MINISTRIES

There is one God, and only one God, and there are three persons that are God. This is one God is three in persons and one God in essence. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have existed forever and will always be. Before Abraham and before creation, Christ said, “I AM” he also said he was the “Alpha and the Omega,” the first and the last. And nothing that was created was not created without him.

The New Testament gives numerous examples of the triune Godhead. We have the Baptism of Christ, where the Spirit of God descended like a Dove, and a voice from heaven declared, “this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” [lxiii]

We have the Great Commission where Christ tells his disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”[lxiv]

Peter and Paul also used the concept of the Trinity in their writings in their benedictions “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”[lxv] “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for the sprinkling with his blood. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”[lxvi]

Several New Testament passages refer to the three members of the Godhead, such as Jude 20-21 “But you beloved, building yourself up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ leads to eternal life.” 

The concept of the Trinity is troublesome for other monotheistic religions, most notably for the Jews and Muslims, who can not comprehend how one God can be manifested in the three persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

The plan of Salvation requires that God the Son be born sinless, live a life on earth experiencing but not yielding to all the temptations, be offered at the perfect sacrifice, die, and be raised from the dead, conquering death in his resurrection so that all of Adam’s race could be freed from the punishment of sin and be able to live forever with God.

Some Heresies and Cults want to make God the Son, The Holy Spirit, and even God the Father as created beings. However, it is essential that the uncreated God, the Son, be born as the perfect Lamb to take away the sins of the world[lxvii].

The fact of the Trinity is essential to us as believers.   We worship one God, yet scripture clearly shows us three distinct and unique members of the Triune God: God the Father is not Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not God the Father, yet all three are God. They were all together at the beginning, They all participated in the making of creation, and a plan was set forth before creation that the Son would be born and become part of creation, Fully man yet fully God, to be the perfect sacrifice to purchase creation by his blood so we can spend eternity with God.

BIBLICAL, EXEGETICAL, THEOLOGICAL, HISTORICAL, AND EXPLANATORY NOTES 

[i] Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 45:57, 1 Corinthians 8:4

[ii] Matthews 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14

[iii] Philippians 2:8

[iv] John 5:18, John 5:23, John 8:16, John 14:9, John 17:10, Philippians 2:9, Colossians 2:9, Romans 1:7, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Matthew 13:21, 2 Peter 3:18, Revelations 7:10.

[v] Exodus 21:1-6, Joshua 5:14. Isaiah 6:8-11

[vi] Genesis 31:30, Exodus 12:12, Genesis 1:1

[vii] Exodus 3:14, Exodus 6:6

[viii] Psalm 18:30

[ix] James 1:17, Micah 3:6, Isaiah 46:9-10, John 3:10

[x] Psalm 90:2, Genesis 21:33, Acts 17:24

[xi] Matthew 11:21, Psalm 147:4, Acts 15:18

[xii] Revelations 19:6, 1 Peter 1:5, Romans 1:16, Genesis 1:1, Hebrews 1:3

[xiii] Psalms 139

[xiv] Romans 3:4, John 14:6

[xv] 1 Peter 1:15, 1 John 1:5

[xvi] Psalm 19:9, Psalm 116:5, Psalm 145:17, Jerimiah 12:1, Acts 17:31, Romans 3:21-26

[xvii] Nahum 1:7, Mark 10:18, Psalm 34:8

[xviii] Deuteronomy 7:9, 2 Timothy 2:13, Psalm 33:4, 2 Thessalonians 3:3

[xix] Revelations 19:6, 1 Peter 1:5, Romans 1:16, Genesis 1:1, Hebrews 1:3

[xx] Psalm 1:39

[xxi] Psalm 90:2, Genesis 21:33, Acts 17:24

[xxii] Isaiah 55:8-9

[xxiii] Matthew 11;21, Psalm 147:4, Acts 15:18

[xxiv] Revelations 19:6, 1 Peter 1:5, Romans 1:16, Genesis 1:1, Hebrews 1:3

[xxv] Psalms 139

[xxvi] Psalm 90:2, Genesis 21:33, Acts 17:24

[xxvii] Psalm 19:9, Psalm 116:5, Psalm 145:17, Jerimiah 12:1, Acts 17:31, Romans 3:21-26

[xxviii] 1 Peter 1:15, John 1:5

[xxix] 1 John 4:8, 1 John 3:16, John 3:16, 1 John 4:9-10, Romans 5:8, Mark 9:45-48

[xxx] Romans 3:4, John 14:6

[xxxi] Ephesians 1, Romans 9

[xxxii] James 1:17, Malachi 3:6, Isaiah 46:9-10, Genesis 6:6, John 3:10

[xxxiii] Micah 5:2, Habakkuk 1:12, Isaiah 9:6

[xxxiv] John 8:58

[xxxv] Colossians 1:16

[xxxvi] John 5:18, John 10:10

[xxxvii] Mark 2:1-12

[xxxviii] John 15:26

[xxxix] John 5:27

[xl] John 1:3, Colossians 1:17

[xli] Matthew 28:18

[xlii] Revelations 1:8

[xliii] Mark 2:8, John 1:48

[xliv] Matthew 18:20, Matthew 28:20, Ephesians 1:23

[xlv] Matthew 14:33, Philippians 2:10, Hebrews 2:10

[xlvi] Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 2:9

[xlvii] 1 Corinthians 2:10

[xlviii] Psalms 139:7

[xlix] John 3:5-6,8

[l] Job 33:4, Romans 15:18-19

[li] Hebrews 9:14

[lii] Romans 8:10-11

[liii] John 6:27, 1 Peter 1:2

[liv] John 20:2,

[lv] Acts 5:3-4

[lvi] John 1:14, Galatians 4:4, 1 Timothy 3:16

[lvii] Dr. Yoder, Unpublished Class Notes January 17-19, 2019

[lviii] Dr. Yoder, Unpublished Class Notes January 17-19, 2019

[lix]  Hebrews 7:11-28

[lx] James 5:9

[lxi] 1 Timothy 6:15

[lxii] Dr. Yoder, Unpublished Class Notes January 17-19, 2019

[lxiii] Matthew 3:16-17, Mark 1:10-11, Like 3:22

[lxiv] Matthew 28:19

[lxv] 2 Corinthians 13:14

[lxvi] 1 Peter 1:2

[lxvii] Dr. Yoder, Unpublished Class Notes January 17-19, 2019

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