For those who believe in the Trinity--here are Biblical Questions?

Question

1. You believe that the Trinity is a mystery. Yet, John 17:3 says that eternal life means KNOWING God and his messenger Jesus. How can you have that life if God and Jesus is a mystery to you?

2. John 1:1. In that verse, where does it say that Christ is equal in might or power to God? If he is with God, does it automatically mean he is equal to God? Why is the holy spirit not mentioned in this verse?

3. John 1:18. Many saw Jesus. So, how is he God?

4. Matthew 20:23: 24:36; John 5:30. All these indicate that Jesus has limited powers. So, how is he equal to God?

5. John 10:30. When Jesus said that he and the father are one, did he really mean he is equal to his father? Or, did he mean that he what he did was what the father wanted him to do on account of the surrounding verses such as --John 10:25,31?

6. Matthew 28:19. Baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the holy spirit. How in the name of Logic, could you ever conclude that this verse support the Tritity?

Please do not beat arround the bush by giving unneccessary verses. I have noticed that many try to evade these questions by citing other verses which they do not understand. STRAIGHT ANSWERS, please.

I have not received straight answers. So, whom would you believe now: your confused pastors/ priests, or the plain texts in the Bible I just cited? Do you know of this basic rule in interpretation: "plain words, plain meaning, UNLESS the resultant interpretation is absurd or illogical?

So who is logical now? The bible or your pastors/ teachers?

Answer 1

The most difficult thing about the Christian concept of the Trinity is that there is no way to adequately explain it. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. God is infinitely greater than we are, therefore we should not expect to be able to fully understand Him. The Bible teaches that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. The Bible also teaches that there is only one God. Though we can understand some facts about the relationship of the different persons of the Trinity to one another, ultimately, it is incomprehensible to the human mind. However, this does not mean it is not true or not based on the teachings of the Bible.



Keep in mind when studying this subject that the word "Trinity" is not used in Scripture. This is a term that is used to attempt to describe the triune God, the fact that there are 3 coexistent, co-eternal persons that make up God. Understand that this is NOT in any way suggesting 3 Gods. The Trinity is 1 God made up of 3 persons. There is nothing wrong with using the term "Trinity" even though the word is not found in the Bible. It is shorter to say the word "Trinity" than to say "3 coexistent, co-eternal persons making up 1 God." If this presents a problem to you, consider this: the word grandfather is not used in the Bible either. Yet, we know there were grandfathers in the Bible. Abraham was the grandfather of Jacob. So don't get hung up on the term "Trinity" itself. What should be of real importance is that the concept that is REPRESENTED by the word "Trinity" does exist in Scripture. With the introduction out of the way, Bible verses will be given in discussion of the Trinity.



1) There is one God: Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Galatians 3:20; 1 Timothy 2:5.



2) The Trinity consists of three Persons: Genesis 1:1; 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8; 48:16; 61:1; Matthew 3:16-17; Matt 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14. In the passages in the Old Testament, a knowledge of Hebrew is helpful. In Genesis 1:1, the plural noun "Elohim" is used. In Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8, the plural pronoun for "us" is used. That "Elohim" and "us" refer to more than two is WITHOUT question. In English, you only have two forms, singular and plural. In Hebrew, you have three forms: singular, dual, and plural. Dual is for two ONLY. In Hebrew, the dual form is used for things that come in pairs like eyes, ears, and hands. The word "Elohim" and the pronoun "us" are plural forms - definitely more than two - and must be referring to three or more (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).



In Isaiah 48:16 and 61:1, the Son is speaking while making reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Compare Isaiah 61:1 to Luke 4:14-19 to see that it is the Son speaking. Matthew 3:16-17 describes the event of Jesus' baptism. Seen in this is God the Holy Spirit descending on God the Son while God the Father proclaims His pleasure in the Son. Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 are examples of 3 distinct persons in the Trinity.



3) The members of the Trinity are distinguished one from another in various passages: In the Old Testament, "LORD" is distinguished from "Lord" (Genesis 19:24; Hosea 1:4). The "LORD" has a "Son" (Psalm 2:7, 12; Proverbs 30:2-4). Spirit is distinguished from the "LORD" (Numbers 27:18) and from "God" (Psalm 51:10-12). God the Son is distinguished from God the Father (Psalm 45:6-7; Hebrews 1:8-9). In the New Testament, John 14:16-17 is where Jesus speaks to the Father about sending a Helper, the Holy Spirit. This shows that Jesus did not consider Himself to be the Father or the Holy Spirit. Consider also all of the other times in the Gospels where Jesus speaks to the Father. Was He speaking to Himself? No. He spoke to another person in the Trinity - the Father.



4) Each member of the Trinity is God: The Father is God: John 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Peter 1:2. The Son is God: John 1:1, 14; Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 5:20. The Holy Spirit is God: Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16 (The One who indwells is the Holy Spirit - Romans 8:9; John 14:16-17; Acts 2:1-4).



5) The subordination within the Trinity: Scripture shows that the Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Father and the Son, and the Son is subordinate to the Father. This is an internal relationship, and does not deny the deity of any person of the Trinity. This is simply an area which our finite minds cannot understand concerning the infinite God. Concerning the Son see: Luke 22:42; John 5:36; John 20:21; 1 John 4:14. Concerning the Holy Spirit see: John 14:16; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7 and especially John 16:13-14.



6) The tasks of the individual members of the Trinity: The Father is the ultimate source or cause of: 1) the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11); 2) divine revelation (Revelation 1:1); 3) salvation (John 3:16-17); and 4) Jesus' human works (John 5:17; 14:10). The Father INITIATES all of these things.



The Son is the agent through whom the Father does the following works: 1) the creation and maintenance of the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17); 2) divine revelation (John 1:1; Matthew 11:27; John 16:12-15; Revelation 1:1); and 3) salvation (2 Corinthians 5:19; Matthew 1:21; John 4:42). The Father does all these things through the Son, who functions as His agent.



The Holy Spirit is the means by whom the Father does the following works: 1) creation and maintenance of the universe (Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; Psalm 104:30); 2) divine revelation (John 16:12-15; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Peter 1:21); 3) salvation (John 3:6; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:2); and 4) Jesus' works (Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38). Thus the Father does all these things by the power of the Holy Spirit.



None of the popular illustrations are completely accurate descriptions of the Trinity. The egg (or apple) fails in that the shell, white, and yolk are parts of the egg, not the egg in themselves. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not parts of God, each of them is God. The water illustration is somewhat better but still fails to adequately describe the Trinity. Liquid, vapor, and ice are forms of water. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not forms of God, each of them is God. So, while these illustrations may give us a picture of the Trinity, the picture is not entirely accurate. An infinite God cannot be fully described by a finite illustration. Instead of focusing on the Trinity, try to focus on the fact of God's greatness and infinitely higher nature than our own. "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" (Romans 11:33-34)

Recommended Resource: Making Sense of the Trinity: Three Crucial Questions by Millard Erickson

Answer 2

1. You are looking for logic, yet this statement is extremely illogical. "Knowing God" means having an intimate relationship of love and trust. Its not about our ability to fully comprehend a supernatural being's nature.

2. Are you picking and choosing what the John is saying?:

Jesus is the Son of God: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. "
Equal in might & power: "He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
The Holy Spirit isn't mentioned because the point of the topic is Jesus.

What part of those verses can you not comprehend?

3. Jesus is God incarnate. John is saying we have never seen the full glory of God...God is a spirit. In Jesus, we have "seen" the glory of God.

4. Although Christ was the Son of God, he bodily took the form of a man. So while Jesus had power and authority over all, He did not make use of those attributes...rather he "renounced them". Jesus took upon himself the form of a servant, and this is often referred to theologically as the "state of humiliation". So, yes, Jesus was limited prior to his death and resurrection: he ate, he slept, and he bled. In taking on the role of a submissive servant before the Father, Jesus was the paragon of all that a human life could/should be....

Hebrews 2:9 "But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."

Collosians 2:9 "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form"

5. Why do you have such a difficult time understanding the plain words of Jesus? The Sanhedrin didn't misunderstand who Christ claimed to be (Matthew 26: 64-65), why do you?

6. How in the name of logic could you conclude it doesn't support the Trinity? The text is obvious...one has to force a different understanding of those words if you are unwilling to accept them at face value.

Answer 3

I have to be brief. It is a long and involved question.
1. God is not a mystery to Christians. The mystery, which is beyond human explanation, is how God can be made up of three seperate identities. There are many things in religions, even yours, which are beyond human comprehension.
2.It doesn't. Youcan't base a belief on one verse. Right at the beginning of the Bible it says, "...and the spirit of God was moving across the waters."
3.He had a human nature and a Divine nature. He came down from heaven and entered a human body so that he could be sacrificed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.
4.Jesus humbled himsef throughout His ministry and put himself below His Father. As St. Paul says, " He did not cling to his equality with God, but took on the nature of man" (I am speaking from memory).
5. He meant what he said, as is supported by many other verses in the Gospels, too many to mention here.
6. It is just one verse. I have said that the Spirit of God is mentioned in Genesis. Also Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into his disciples before he ascended into heaven. Jesus also told us that he had come down from heaven and that he existed before Abraham, and much more.

I hope this helps, but I have my doubts. Somehow I have the feeling that you are the sort of person who reads the Bible with a closed mind and will be the same to any sort of explanation.
God bless you.

Answer 4

In Genesis Chapter 1 , Elohim (plural identity) created with His Spoken Word (Jesus). Also God's Spirit hovered over the Waters. I believe this is the trinity. Other earth examples are water, earth & air, and the egg has 3 parts, yet it is one egg.

Jesus said, "The Father & I are one." He was the express image of God the Father. If You saw Jesus, You saw the Father.

Jesus had all power. He just didn't use it. The fullness of God was with Him without measure.

When Jesus was baptized by John, He operated by the power of the Holy Spirit to be an example for us to follow. We too can be filled with the Holy Spirit and do even greater things than Jesus did. Towards the return of Jesus, God is pouring out His Spirit, His living water, upon all who come to Him & receive. The Spirit is given to the body of Christ by measure.

There are false trinities out there that happened after God was a trinity first. But God is bigger than a trinity. The 7 eyes of God seeking those whose hearts are seeking Him. Jesus has the 7 Spirits of God. 7 is the number of rest in Christ, completion, blessing, etc. Satan likes to usurp all or any of God's identity to lead people away from God.

Satan is an identity thief. Jesus said, "Do not be deceived, Many will come and say they are the Christ, and deceive many.".

Answer 5

1 John 5:7
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the FATHER, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are ONE

1 John 5:8
And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in ONE.

1 John 5:20 ( note all will not get this understanding)
And we know that the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in the Son of Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life..

Answer 6

for those who do not have eternal life yet, trinity can be a mystery and there is no contradiction there.
Christ is not mentioned at all in john 1.1.translation of that verse might be far away from the original meaning.The text was originally written in Greek. it says: (english translation) "In the beggining was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Greek text says" Εν αρχή ην ο λόγος και ο λόγος ειναι προς τον Θεο, και Θεός είναι ο λόγος. the word "Word" of the English text, is not "word" in Greek. it may surprise you, but it is very difficult to translate this in english. It is actually difficult to conceive and understand the original greek text, even if you are Greek. he word "word" (as seen in English text) is "Logos" (Λόγος) in Greek. It has several meanings, such as :"word", "speech", but "reason", "cause", or "consideration", and some interesting ones,"ratio", "oration".I do not know why the holy spirit is not mentioned, maybe john thought there was no REASON, think about it, it makes sense, john was very carefull since he was about to refer to God using one and only WORD...god is not just a plain word we read or an old man with beard(that is santa they say) Indeed, if god was to be described in a way that we could easily understand, he would not be god, because he would had convinced us through his power over human perception. God is Love . Can you see Love? Can you see the results of love though? to my mind this is how god is like.jesus was not god, he was sent by god. do not expect to actually prove that god exists , otherwise he is not god. logic though is a very strong tool. by the way, this "word",in john 1.1 is "Logos" in Greek. This is where the word "logic" comes from..

Answer 7

The so-known as "Trinity doctrine" is a purple herring, and you're reacting to it simply as you had been programmed to. The reality is that there's just one God. But do not restrict Him to human potential. That One God is in a position to do something He could opt for to do, be wherever and all over the place while, adding inside your middle. Why is it so difficult to have an understanding of that God might and might come into the arena in a human frame? Why is that this so difficult to consider? Why have got to we make Jesus a "moment individual within the trinity", as though He have got to have compatibility into a few human assessment of Him? What is so intricate approximately the perception that God might opt for to stay inside the human middle? Why have got to we invent but yet another "individual within the trinity" to provide an explanation for the Holy Spirit? The "Trinity Doctrine" is an attempt to take your brain clear of the Holiness of God, and it sort of feels to paintings extremely good. One for Satan!!

Answer 8

I don't expect you to believe because in the first it will be difficult to convince those who refuses to. But in reality, how can one obviously correlate logic with mystery? It seem quite impossible because logic can be analyzed and explained while mystery is exactly its opposite. But I'll take a shot on this not expecting to hit the jackpot but hoping that I may be able to shed some light according to my limited knowledge.

God is one and God sent his law to humankind through his prophet. God found the law too difficult for man to understand and as a result man tried to interpret it somewhat different from its original form. A lot of prophets came and went, but still no proper interpretation was at hand and his creation who should be obedient to such law even killed some of his messengers. For centuries, it turned out that the law made people's heart hard a stone and human instincts and desires overcame human values. So, He decided to set the exact example how it is to become a human being but He has to do it in the flesh. But the Spirit of God cannot just get into any woman but should come out of a spiritually clean one. Thus, the choice of having a virgin untouched by human hands, as a vessel for God's spirit to undergo the usual process of human birth in the form of Jesus Christ.

What is important to remember in this, is that Mary concieved through the power of God and not by the union of human germinal cells that created the miracle, which until now many still find too difficult to believe. How in the world can a woman concieved without a male sperm cell, it is just impossible, so what did Mary concieve, having no physical association with a male counterpart?

To make things simpler, God is truly Omniscient (all knowing), Omnipotent (all powerful) and Omnipresent (all present). So, believing in this, God's spirit can be anywhere he desires as to be in heaven and in the body of Jesus altogether since being Omnipresent, He can be everywhere. Spirits can only be seen by those authorized by God like his prophets and His messengers. Man would usually tend to doubt because man has adopted the belief that he has to see first the proof in order to believe. This is the dilemma now that has promoted all these arguments about God because God being a spirit has to show Himself to men of Logic for him to believe. But it will never be so. So, how do we settle such inconsistencies?

God came in the person of Jesus and came down in the form of Dove and Fire. But there is no proof of this except what is being written in the Holy Bible. So, again how do we settle this? None can ever settle it because not all men are chosen, as men rise and fall before God's eyes. Thus, we should expect that there will always be doubts and there will be more doubts than those who will believe.

Answer 9

OK, you remember that Jim Henson was Kermit the Frog, right? Kermit was and is beloved of so many children and adults. Kermit who sang the "Rainbow Connection" that may or may not have made it ok to eat Skittles or be gay, depending on your preferences. Kermit also told us that the path toward ecological sustainability was difficult and subject to being co-opted by massive multinational corporations in his heart-felt song "It's Not Easy Being Green." Anyway, Kermit will live eternally.

Jim Henson (pbuh) unfortunately caught a microbe and secumbed - passed to that eternal puppet show in the sky. There are those who saw the body and wrote about it. I will not disbelieve in them for what would they have to gain by lying? I ask this question a lot. Most of the times it stands me in good stead. What would they (in this case, the ones who saw that Jim was dead) gain by lying to us all? I am not sure, btw, about Jim Morrison. I think he is dead. Pretty sure of it.

Now then, like a phoenix from the ashes (phoenixes are not allowed to set fire to themselves anymore but are forced to remain in a vegetative state with feeding tubes forced in through their beaks, some phoenixes lie in coma for decades despite what their families want - Congress knows best), like a phoenix USED to arise from the ashes then, Kermit the Frog comes back from the dead! Explain THAT you scientists who only believe in the Big Bang Theory. Huh! Kermit is Back and He is Bad!

So we look around and poke our doubting hands into the hole in Kermit's side, er, back and find to our amazement it is not JIM Henson but Brian Henson who is now animating Kermit. Kermit can move and speak and even does commercials (puzzling since the commercials are for huge SUVs that hardly get more than 18 miles per gallon).

But I digress. Surely you can see by this simple tale (frogs do not have tails except as tadpoles) that here is The Father, The Son, and The Holey Frog. Easy enough, right? or 1=3, 3=1

Interestingly enough FROG spelled backwards is GORF and has exactly the same numerical value. Think about that.

Who was this Arius fellow anyway?

Answer 10

You are right and I thank God that people are waking up to the truth.God is the Father,Jesus is the only begotten son of God{the Word} and the Holy Spirit is the the Spirit of God{the heart of God}, this all come down like with humans,you being a dad,have a son,that only wants to please you.So he goes to the store for you with a list of exactly what you want him to get,and comes home with exactly that,you would be so pleased with him.Yes Jesus did what God the Father wanted him to do. Please don't let anyone confuse you on this.