Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

God Is Three
Grace to You.org ^ | 1997 | John MacArthur, Grace Community Church

Posted on 02/05/2016 4:09:36 AM PST by metmom

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14).

Though there is only one God, He exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

God is one, but He exists in three distinct Persons. We call this the Trinity, a contraction of "tri-unity," meaning "three in one." The word Trinity doesn't appear in the Bible, but God's existence as three Persons in one God is clear from Scripture.

Old Testament evidence of God's plurality can be found in the very first verse: "In the beginning God . . ." (Gen. 1:1). The Hebrew word used for God is Elohim, which is a plural noun. Isaiah 42:1 speaks of the Messiah: "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations." The Messiah says in Isaiah 48:16, "The Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit."

The New Testament is more explicit about God's triune nature. After Jesus' baptism, the Spirit of God descended upon Him as a dove, and the Father said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased" (Matt. 3:17). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are together in the same scene.

Jesus says, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16-17). Paul closes 2 Corinthians by saying, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all" (13:14). Peter declares that believers are chosen "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:2).

So God is one, but God is three. This is a profound mystery that no human illustration can adequately describe and no scientific explanation can prove. The Trinity is something we have to take on faith, because God has taught it in Scripture.

Suggestions for Prayer

Praise God that He is so far above our finite understanding, yet has chosen to reveal Himself to us.

For Further Study

Read John 14-16.

What does Jesus teach about His relationship with the Father and the Spirit? What do you learn here about the different functions or ministries of each member of the Trinity?


TOPICS: Evangelical Christian; General Discusssion; Theology; Worship
KEYWORDS: faith; grace; gty
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 381-390 next last
To: one Lord one faith one baptism

And it states that there were TWO Sabbaths between His crucifixion and resurrection and one day between them.

That gives three days and THREE NIGHTS, not two nights that the Gregorian calendar gives.


81 posted on 02/06/2016 5:19:35 AM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 77 | View Replies]

To: metmom

Lol, it doesn’t state there were two sabbaths. Just making that up.

What day did Jesus die on and what day did he rise?

Are you able to,answer that or do you,just want to babble on about Gregory?


82 posted on 02/06/2016 5:22:10 AM PST by one Lord one faith one baptism
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 81 | View Replies]

To: metmom

If there were two sabbaths and a day between them, they would have gone to the tomb on the day between them and not waited two more days when the body would stink.

People believe any lie if it attacks Christian beliefs.


83 posted on 02/06/2016 5:25:11 AM PST by one Lord one faith one baptism
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 81 | View Replies]

To: metmom

Hopefully you do know the special Sabbath ( or high Sabbath ) can fall on the 7th day Sabbath?

Just trying to avoid you making a fool of yourself.


84 posted on 02/06/2016 5:27:01 AM PST by one Lord one faith one baptism
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 81 | View Replies]

To: metmom

The Scriptures do not say they rested twice, only once.

It does say they rested according to the commandment, so we know this was the 7th day Sabbath.


85 posted on 02/06/2016 5:28:42 AM PST by one Lord one faith one baptism
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 81 | View Replies]

To: one Lord one faith one baptism

The Christian faith is based on Scripture, not the fabricated calendar that Gregory made.

If you want to put the creations of men above Scripture, that’s your prerogative, but it’s not going to end well for you.


86 posted on 02/06/2016 5:42:30 AM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 83 | View Replies]

To: metmom

Lol, suppose an atheist asks you,what day Jesus died and what day he rose?

Could you give that atheist an answer from the Scriptures?

Or are you only interested in spreading confusion and dissension against the Christian Faith by posting a link to a 7th day cult?


87 posted on 02/06/2016 5:44:46 AM PST by one Lord one faith one baptism
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 86 | View Replies]

To: one Lord one faith one baptism
Show me one verse where Paul explains to the Gentile converts what the Sabbath day is for, why we need to keep it and how we should keep it. You can’t!

Of course I can.

When Paul was tutoring Timothy he wrote:

2Ti 3:15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
2Ti 3:17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

This is what Paul think about scripture. And that scripture he was referring to was what we call the books of the old testament.

And what do those scriptures teach?

Exo 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

Now either Paul taught gentiles from the scriptures or he didn't. Your position (apparently) is that he completely abandoned all scripture that showed absolutely what God expects from his followers about the sabbath. And we KNOW that's not true because of what he told Timothy.

What did he teach to gentiles? There is no doubt that many, if not most, of the Roman converts were gentile converts.

Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "YOU SHALL NOT COVET."
Rom 7:8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.
Rom 7:9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
Rom 7:10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.
Rom 7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
Rom 7:12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

Substitute "keep the sabbath" for "thou shalt not covet". If it weren't for the sabbath commandment we wouldn't know we were sinning. Therefore the law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good.

88 posted on 02/06/2016 6:07:13 AM PST by DouglasKC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: one Lord one faith one baptism
How many hours was Jonah in the fish???

Three days and three nights. Not parts of three days and three nights. Not a jewish idiom. It had to be a known, understandable quantity. In fact if you ask Jewish rabbi's they will tell you 72 hours.

Why? Because of what Christ said:

Mat 12:39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Mat 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jesus said 3 days and 3 nights just like Jonah. This was a sign. If it wasn't 72 hours then NOBODY knew exactly how long it was. "Hmmm", they would say "Did he mean two whole days and a night? Or did he mean 1 second of a night a whole day and another 1 second of a night? Doesn't Jesus know that was just a Jewish idiom? Isn't that just like Jesus to give us such a vague "sign"?"

Nope, it was 72 hours and that's the way it was understood. And when I asked several jewish rabbi's that's the number of hours they gave.

89 posted on 02/06/2016 6:21:35 AM PST by DouglasKC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: Elsie
Depends on whether you are a Jew or a Gentile; I guess...

No such division exists in Christianity.

Gal 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

The notion that there were different standards for Christians is absurd. The apparent division came about because those who were coming out of Judaism had to shed themselves of NON-SCRIPTURAL Jewish customs and traditions. Those coming from gentile systems of worship HAD to learn what the truth was from God inspired scripture. And one of those truths is that the sabbath belongs to the Lord.

90 posted on 02/06/2016 6:28:19 AM PST by DouglasKC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]

To: Elsie
That's a twist. You're saying the "apostolic tradition" tells us to disobey the 4th commandment, a commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and if we don't we're following man's tradition. Truly your logic is dizzying. :-)
Romans 14:5
One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind.

You keep using that verse. I do not think it means what you think it means.

What's more likely? That Paul, by his one sentence, overturned a scriptural commandment of God about the sabbath? A commandment that was 1 of 10 that was written in stone. A commandment that was reiterated over and over and over again in scripture. A commandment that when broken was linked to the downfall of Israel again and again and again. A commandment that had been observed and ingrained into all aspects of Jewish society.

You're taking your desire to worship on Sunday and applying it out of context to a verse that has nothing to do with the sabbath. And it's demonstrable.

1. The verse never mentions the sabbath or holy days.
2. In the broader context of the verse it's clear that the primary focus of these "days" has something to do with eating.

Read Romans 14 for yourself.

91 posted on 02/06/2016 6:35:45 AM PST by DouglasKC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: one Lord one faith one baptism

As though anticipating this thread; it's no WONDER that Jesus said "No one knows the day or the hour...!"


92 posted on 02/06/2016 6:36:58 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 82 | View Replies]

To: DouglasKC
And what do those scriptures teach?

The ones in Acts chapter 15??

93 posted on 02/06/2016 6:38:14 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 88 | View Replies]

To: one Lord one faith one baptism
Does anyone claim there are three gods?
Christians believe in ONE God.
Acts 5:4 declares the Holy Spirit to be God.
Do you believe in One God or two?

One, composed of two divine personages. Not three. Scripture shows absolutely that this is so. And history shows absolutely your view is an evolved view that didn't exist as part of "official" Christianity until more then 300 years after Jesus died.

94 posted on 02/06/2016 6:39:40 AM PST by DouglasKC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: DouglasKC
Substitute "keep the sabbath" for "thou shalt not covet".

Sounds like a REALLY good way to get into trouble!!!

Rev 22:18-19
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

95 posted on 02/06/2016 6:40:07 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 88 | View Replies]

To: Iscool
1Th_5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. If there's three of you there's three of Him...

For every "three" reference I can give you 20 or 30 "two" references.

96 posted on 02/06/2016 6:41:41 AM PST by DouglasKC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

To: DouglasKC
No such division exists in Christianity.

Oh??


"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

97 posted on 02/06/2016 6:42:01 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 90 | View Replies]

To: Elsie
Sounds like a REALLY good way to get into trouble!!! Rev 22:18-19 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

Well first of all this verse was strictly about Revelation. But if it were not that's a fine kettle of fish coming from one espouses the view that proposes that one of the ten commandments has been stricken from the bible.

98 posted on 02/06/2016 6:43:56 AM PST by DouglasKC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 95 | View Replies]

To: DouglasKC
The verse never mentions the sabbath or holy days.

Then just WHICH 'day' is it referring to?


One person considers one day to be above another day.

99 posted on 02/06/2016 6:44:03 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 91 | View Replies]

To: Elsie
Oh?? "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

And when they turn to God they are....wait for it...wait for it...CHRISTIANS! Sure they used to be gentiles and came from a gentile background but there were not and are not different standards of behavior in Christianity.

100 posted on 02/06/2016 6:45:46 AM PST by DouglasKC
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 97 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 381-390 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson