Bible Basics - Trinity - Part 2b Bible Foundations

Let us continue to look at more scriptures concerning Jesus' claim to be God by looking at the fact that other folks in the beginning of the Church knew Jesus was God.
Both the Old Testament and New Testament both teach that no one is worthy of worship but God. For example Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:13 in Luke 4:8

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"

Showing that Jesus clearly did not teach that anyone could be worshipped but God. Why did he not correct Thomas in John 20:28? John 20:28 says:

Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus did not correct him. I've heard some people say that in English the verse is mispunctuated. The it should be like "Oh My God, My Lord!" There are two problems with this. One, no way can you get that out of the Greek grammar and two as a Jew Thomas would not have been taking God's name as an explicative now matter how surprised he was.

Look at Hebrews 1:6 as another example:

And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
"Let all God's angels worship him."

See the point? If Jesus is not God then why do we see him being worshipped? Answer: The Bible teaches that Jesus is God.
I would like to look at a few more scriptures dealing with who Jesus is. I love Philippians 2:5-11 because it encapsulates the early church's understanding of Jesus so simply.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

I prefer the NIV and more modern translations than the King James rendering. The KJV says "Let this mind be in you..." which hides what the Greek is definitely saying for modern readers. Paul is admonishing us to be of a humble attitude like Jesus was. Then we are told the kind of humility Jesus exhibited for us. He was God and voluntarily entered into a human body to serve those whom he created. Considering the heights from which Christ condescended to serve humanity shouldn't be willing to lay aside ego and pride and serve each other in love.

I would be remiss not to mention John 14:8-21. I want to look at what Jesus said:

Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Jesus emphatically tells us that seeing Him is as good as seeing the Father. He does not assert that He is the Father. No the Father and The Son are distinct but both are still God. John 12:12-14 is a great text that shows a glimpse of the Son's Relationship with the Father.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid."
Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me."

Jesus and the Father are 2 distinct witnesses to who Jesus is and why He came. Each a distinct person. Not one.

Here are some other scriptures that should be considered when discussing this about Jesus' deity. John 1:1-5 says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

"The Word" is the Greek word LOGOS. It means the "eternal expression of the divine intelligence" (Goodrick-Kohlenberger number 3364). Some people have tried to take this idea as meaning that it's not talking about a person. The problem is John emphatically writes that the Word is God and is called a Him.

John 1:14 says:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He says that God dwelt among men in the person of Christ.

John 1:18 says:

No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

How can John write about no one seeing "God but God the One and Only" made him known? We must accept John's language whether we understand it or not. He is saying that no one has seen God, but God (the Word) has made him known. Unless you want to argue that the Word is not Jesus Christ what other conclusion can you draw other than Jesus is God.

Colossians 1:15-20 says:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

How can all things be made by him and for him and all things be held together by him unless he is eternal and is God? Most people agree that this passage is about Jesus. Jesus held the fullness of all that God is in him. This makes Jesus as more than just an exalted human being. It says that Jesus is God.

John 12:39-41 says

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
"He has blinded their eyes
and deadened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them." Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

John 12:39-41 refers to Isaiah 6:1-4:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

John is saying that when Isaiah says He "saw" God, he was referring to Christ!

Let us turn to what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit. We can see that it says that Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force or energy field without consciousness or thought. Look at Acts 5:3,4 which says:

Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."

Examine what Peter said. First he said Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit. You can't lie to a force, you can only lie to a person. Second, Ananias lied to God not just to men. The Holy Spirit is equated to God. Let's get another example: Acts 13:1-3 says

In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

I'm sure you can see that it says that the Holy Spirit spoke. He said He had a plan for Barnabas and Paul. A force cannot have plans or have desires.

Let me sum up what I am saying so far. The Bible says the Father is God. The Bible says the Son is God. The Bible Says the Holy Spirit is God. Here is the next part. The Bible Says there is one God. Here are 2 Scriptures that say that there is only one God. Isaiah 43:10 says:

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD,
"and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.

Isaiah 45:22 says:

"Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.

Are there any scriptures in the Bible that talk about the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit? Yes. Look at Matthew 28:19 which says:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Matt 3:16,17 says

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Therefore if the Father is God; the Son is God; the Holy Spirit is God; and there is only One God then the Bible teaches the doctrine of the Trinity.

Bible Basics - Trinity - Part 2a Bible Foundations

So how do we go about showing that the Trinity doctrine comes from Scripture? Well, I wish I could say that this method was revealed to me from high, but I heard this line of reasoning from Dr. Walter Martin when he was addressing how to witness to Jehovah Witnesses when they deny the Trinity. I find that his presentation should work for any discussion of the subject.

Dr. Martin started with premise that if you can prove that the Bible teaches all of the following:
There are 3 persons identified in scripture -
Father is called "GOD";
the Son is called "GOD";
the Holy Spirit is called "GOD";
and there is only one God;

Then you have to accept the doctrine of the Trinity in order to be consistent with the Bible.
Then each person of the Trinity must Equal and are God. Logically, things equal to the same thing are equal to each other.
Therefore if the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God, then they must be equal to one another.

Let us take on further discussion step by step. All Christians agree that God is personal and the Father is God. 2 Peter 1:17 clearly states that the Father is called God.

For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

I'll leave this point because I think that very few people will argue with it. To show the concept that the Bible teaches that Jesus is God and the Holy Spirit is God will require much more Biblical Proof.

Jesus applied the Divine name to himself. I realize that there are people who deny this. If you do not accept that Jesus is God, please consider the implications of if He really did teach that he is God. If any man makes such a claim, there are only 4 possible conclusions that you draw. Either He was:
a. deceived;
b. insane;
c. wrong;
or d. telling the truth.

Let's look at the scriptures to talk about what Jesus said about himself and what the scriptures say about Him. A favorite texts where Jesus emphatically claims the divine name is found in John 8:58,59 which says:

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Without looking at the cultural context of the people who heard Jesus say this it is impossible to understand why they reacted so violently. They wanted to kill Him! Why? They understood what He was saying and it's lost on us in English. However Greek helps a lot. We have to go back to what God said to Moses back in Exodus 3:13,14:

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

The Greek Translation of the Old Testaments, the Septuagint - completed over a century before Jesus' birth through Mary, translated the Hebrew word for "I AM", YWH (Yaweh or Jehovah) with the same word Jesus used in John 8:58: Eimi. The Jews who wanted to kill Jesus understood that Jesus was asserting his eternality and calling himself the same name as the God who brought them up out of Egypt under Moses. His meaning was not lost upon them. Why should we set it aside today?

Let's go to John 10: 24-39. The Passage is as follows:

The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^] no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"

"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

Here we again have an example of Jesus saying something that no other human being can say. And again the Jews undrerstood the weight of the words. They understood Jesus claimed to ber God because He claimed to be one with Father. I've heard some folks try to use verses 34, 35, and 36 to say that Jesus denied being equal with God but instead only claimed to be God's Son. This explanation pre-supposes that God's Son has a fundamentally different essence than God himself and I think that we can't say that. The scripture won't hold.

Let's examine some more scriptures. Revelations 1:8 says:

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

We can definitely say that God is exactly what verse 8 says. It is God the Father talking. Most People will agree that Revelation 1:17 18 is Jesus talking. Red letter Bible have his words in Red.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

We have Jesus calling himself "First and Last". Sounds like God to me. Look at Revelations 22: 12, 13 which says:

"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

Jesus refers to himself in the same way God does in Revelation 1. So either we have a contradiction or Jesus is God. and the Holy Spirit is God.

Let's throw in some Old Testament texts from Isaiah. Isaiah 44:6 says

This is what the LORD says—

"Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God."

Whis is echoed in Revelation. This shows that God the Father and God the Son are sharing the same name.

Recall that in Isaiah 9: 6-7, Jesus is prophesied to being called "Everlasting Father".and "Mighty God".

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

If all these names apply to Jesus, then no other conclusion can be drawn other than Jesus is just as much God as the Father.

Wow....I just get on a roll and keep typing. I need to break this post up too. So that it won't be too long. In Part 2b I will continue going over scripture.

Biblical Basics - Trinity: A Positive Presentation Part 1 Introduction

Well here is the post I have been promising concerning the Trinity. This post is intended to be a positive presentation concerning the doctrine of the Trinity. I will do a separate post responding to the comments of Adam Pastor who graciously commented on my posts concerning Jesus' humanity and deity and the "Redux". In a forthcoming post I will respond to the movie that he suggests the people watch, called the Human Jesus. I want to be very clear that while I believe that what a person believes about the "Trinity" is important, it is not a "make it" or "break it" issue. There are some people who believe the doctrine but are not going to make it to heaven. There are some people who do not believe the doctrine will be going to heaven and vice versa. The difference as to whether you go to heaven or hell is not dependent on if you believe the Trinity or not. Your eternal destiny only depends on your belief that Jesus paid for your sins through his death on the cross and justified you before God through his resurrection.

So why discuss the Trinity? What you believe about the nature of God is important. Loving God means wanting to know Him as He has revealed himself. It's kind of like riding a bike and never taking it out of the first gear. I'd like to know as much about God as I can. I know that I don't have it all down at all, so this post is just a way systematize what I have learned so far.

I would state the "Trinity Doctrine" as follows: There is only one GOD - one supreme, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, eternal, sovereign, merciful, loving, and just being; who exists and relates to humanity in three distinct, co-equal, and eternal persons; sharing the same essence and being. Those three persons are The Father, The Son - Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit. How does this work? How do they relate to one another? How can 3 distinct persons share the same being? Let me be upfront and honest: I don't know. I have no clue, but this is what the Biblical evidence points to. I can find no other conclusion.

I do know that what confused me most of my life concerning the Trinity is confusing the concepts of "being" and "person". Western culture, by and large, treats these concepts as equal. I know I never saw a difference for most of my life but there is a difference. "Being" speaks to ontological essence and "person" refers to relationship. Considering "being" means asking "what" something is. Considering "personhood" means asking "who" someone is. "Being" and "person" cannot be the same thing. They are not synonyms. If I walked up to you and asked "What are you?" And then another person walked up to you and asked "Who are you?" Would you give the same answer to both questions? I doubt it. What I am is a human being - a man. If you are reading this you are obviously (barring the existence of extra-terresterial life) also human being. Don't you think that explaining who you are is a bit more complicated? Why would we think that who God is would require a simple explanation that our finite human minds can fully grasp when it is difficult for us to understand who and what we are let alone a fellow human being.

This misconception is the reason why Trinitarians are accused to be polytheistic (belief in multiple gods) not monotheistic (belief in one God). It does not help that some early "Christian" art depicts 3 men on 3 thrones or a man with three faces when trying to depict God. It adds to the confusion. I see why God told us not make any images of him because we cannot visualize what God is.

This is going to be a long post so I am going to break it up . The next part I will use Dr Walter Martin's logic to explain how the Trinity is scriptural. I want to take the method taken by the late Dr. Walter Martin on how to show that the Bible teaches the Trinity. Then I want to finish the posts by expounding on a few texts that I had not discussed up to that point. At the end of this article I want to also provide a bibliography.