STUDY No. 17 - THE TRINITY

We believe that there is one GOD, who eternally exists and manifests Himself to us in three PERSONS - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We do not fully understand this, we cannot explain it, but we accept it as a belief beyond our reason and only received by faith in the light of a present written revelation, the HOLY BIBLE

An increasing number of Christians these days prefer to accept the AUTHORISED VERSION as their standard Bible - this in view of the proliferation of new "Bibles’ - all of which are different and none considered final.

We believe in the trinity of the Godhead because the Bible, our final authority, implies it, indicates it in several ways and summarises it in the Apostolic Blessing.

THE PLURALITY OF THE GODHEAD IS IMPLIED

Genesis 1:1-3:
The Creator speaks in the act of creation
The Holy Spirit moves in the act of creation.

There are several interesting references to consider.

Genesis 1:26
God says: "Let Us". Who are "Us’? - See also Genesis 11:7,8 and Isaiah 6:8
Take time to ponder these verses.

Psalm 2:11, 12
What should our relation be to the Lord? Who is the Son? How can we kiss Him?
There are several other verses like this, in which the plurality of the Godhead is implied.

THE PLURALITY OF THE GODHEAD IS INDICATED

The threefold Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:22-26 is interesting. It is an Old Testament blessing pointing to the tri-unity of God. Compare it with 2 Cor. 13:14.

We see here the basis of what became known as the Apostolic Blessing in which the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are united in declaring God’s favour among His people.

Reason, especially unbelieving reason, will find the trinity difficult to explain. Some people find it helpful to visualise the Trinity in terms of (a) a triangle - one figure with three sides, or (b) water - one substance existing in three states, as liquid, solid (ice) or gas (steam). But such pictorial representations have limited application. Simple faith in the Word of God is the key!

Isaiah 6:3 contains a reference to a threefold "Holy, holy, holy ..."

See also 1 Thessalonians 5:23 where the triune nature of man is implied, though some people will have a different view on this.

Luke 15  - Notice the three stories of something "lost" and "found".
Many people have found in each of these stories (about a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son),
an aspect of the Godhead - constituting a God who manifests Himself in three ways.

In which of the stories respectively is it possible to see
the LORD JESUS CHRIST, the HOLY SPIRIT and the FATHER?

The Litany in The Anglican Book of Common Prayer says:

"O holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three Persons and one God; have mercy upon us miserable sinners."

THE TRINITY OF THE GODHEAD IS EXPRESSED

Matthew 28:19
Notice that baptism is in the name (singular) of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

There are many ‘gods’ and ‘lords’ being called upon today. They are ‘other gods’. The distinction of the true God is that He is the only triune God and we refer to Him as "Thou only art the Lord".

Matthew 3:17-19
Read this account very carefully. You will discover how the triune God is ‘seen and heard’ at one and the same time!
He is seen as...
He is heard as...

Finally, see Acts 5:3, 4 for the answer to the following question:
Against Whom were Ananias and Sapphira lying?

The GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ and
the LOVE of God our heavenly Father and
the FELLOWSHIP of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.

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