Belief in a God of three persons is one of the most\ndemanding biblical teachings. Christianity is the only world religion that\nmakes this claim. The doctrine of the Trinity is truly distinctive of the\nChristian faith, crucial because it deals with who God is, what He is like, and\nhow He works. Christians believe the doctrine is necessary to do justice to the\ntestimony of Scripture, the primary source of our knowledge of God. We must\nspeak concerning God in the terms He uses. Biblical evidence has three facets:\n(a) there is one God; (b) three-in-oneness; and (c) three persons who are God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christianity emerged from the ancient Hebrews, who were\nrigorously monotheistic (and remain so today). Writers of the Old Testament\naddress this, sometimes quoting God directly. The Decalogue begins with the\ndivine statement: \u201cI am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of\nthe house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me\u201d (Ex. 20:2, 3).\nDeuteronomy 6:4 contains the definitive monotheistic statement, initially\ninsisted within a polytheistic world: \u201cHear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the\nLord is one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The New Testament continues Old Testament sentiments, such\nas Paul \u2028(1 Cor. 8:4) and\nJames (James 2:19). What then caused these monotheistic Jews and Christians to\ndeclare belief in the three-personed Godhead? It was the biblical witness of\nthree divine persons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God refers to Himself both as \u201cHe\u201d and \u201cUs.\u201d In the Old Testament the plural form of one of the nouns for God (\u2019elohim<\/em>) is quantitative: \u201cLet Us make man in Our image.\u201d The plural appears both with the verb \u201cLet Us make\u201d and the possessive suffix \u201cOur\u201d (Gen. 1:26; 11:7). Isaiah, in vision, hears the Lord: \u201cWhom shall I send, and who will go for Us?\u201d (Isa. 6:8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Genesis 2:24 man and woman are to become one (\u2019echad<\/em>), a union of two separate entities. Significantly, the same word is used of God in Deuteronomy 6:4. Marriage and God\u2019s nature are both described as a plural unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three divine persons are often linked together (Isa. 42:1;\n61:1, 2; 63:8-11). The angel tells Mary that her child will be called holy\nbecause the Holy Spirit will come upon her (Luke 1:35). At the baptism of Jesus\n(Matt. 3:16, 17) three divine persons are present. Jesus links His miracles to\nthe Spirit of God\u2019s power (Matt. 12:28). Because of the Great Commission, new\ndisciples are baptized in the singular \u201cname\u201d of the three persons: Father, Son\nand Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pronounced evidence can be found in the gospel of John.\nJesus declares: The Son is sent by the Father (14:24), coming from Him (16:28).\nThe Spirit is given by the Father (14:16), sent from the Father (14:26) and\nproceeds from the Father (15:26). The Son prays for the coming of the Spirit\n(14:16); the Father sends the Spirit in the Son\u2019s name (14:26); the Son sends\nthe Spirit from the Father (15:26). The Spirit\u2019s ministry continues the Son\u2019s,\nbringing to remembrance what the Son has said (14:26), bearing witness to the\nSon (15:26), declaring what He hears from the Son, glorifying the Son (16:13,\n14). Jesus prays that His disciples may be one as He and the Father are One\n(17:21).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter names three divine persons at Pentecost: \u201cExalted to\nthe right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promised Holy\nSpirit, He poured out this. . . . Let every one of you be baptized in the name\nof Jesus Christ . . . and you shall receive the . . . Holy Spirit\u201d (Acts\n2:33-38).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul often speaks of the triune God, relating salvation to\nthe three Persons of the Trinity (2 Cor. 1:21, 22). The form as well as content\nof his writing communicates his belief in the book of Romans: God\u2019s judgment\nupon everyone (1:18\u20133:20); justification through faith in Christ (3:21\u20138:1);\nlife in the Spirit (8:2-30). Paul also includes them in his benedictions: \u201cThe\ngrace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the\nHoly Spirit be with you all\u201d (2 Cor. 13:14). Similar formulaic expressions\nappear also in Peter\u2019s and Jude\u2019s epistles (1 Peter 1:1, 2; Jude 20, 21).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Belief in a God of three persons is one of the most demanding biblical teachings. Christianity is the only world religion that makes this claim. The doctrine of the Trinity is truly distinctive of the Christian faith, crucial because it deals with who God is, what He is like, and how He works. Christians believe the doctrine is necessary to do justice to the testimony of Scripture, the primary source of our knowledge of God. We must speak concerning God […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-studies"],"yoast_head":"\n