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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
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To: DouglasKC
As Jesus taught Philip a Physics lesson, so I shall try to share it with you:

Jesus told Philip that all he could see of God The Father Almighty was where God intersected Philip's sensory range, for, as Jesus put it, 'I AM in the Father and the Father is in Me.' 'All you see of The Father is what you see in me.'

When Jesus submitted Himself for baptism the Father spoke, The Holy Spirit descended as a dove and Jesus was with us in bodily form. All three Personages of the 'God is One' were present at the Baptism.

221 posted on 02/08/2016 7:53:38 AM PST by MHGinTN (Democrats bait then switch; their fishy voters buy it every time.)
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To: John Leland 1789

Can you tell me from good Bible study what day of the week Jesus rose on?

You have a one in seven chance of being right.

Can we start there?


222 posted on 02/08/2016 7:53:39 AM PST by one Lord one faith one baptism
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To: one Lord one faith one baptism

See post #50, this thread ... and try to read it all this time so you don’t stumble along haranguing fellow Freepers.


223 posted on 02/08/2016 7:55:48 AM PST by MHGinTN (Democrats bait then switch; their fishy voters buy it every time.)
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To: lupie

Boy, you are a tricky one all right.

You laid a clever trap for me and I stepped right in it.

Lol


224 posted on 02/08/2016 7:56:49 AM PST by one Lord one faith one baptism
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To: one Lord one faith one baptism; delchiante

So long as you will accept only Rome’s 6+1 you will never see the 1+6+1 of God’s timing.


225 posted on 02/08/2016 8:00:23 AM PST by MHGinTN (Democrats bait then switch; their fishy voters buy it every time.)
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To: MHGinTN

Lol, post #50 best I can follow it since it is incoherent, but it says Jesus died on the sixth day ( our Friday ) and was raised on the first day ( our Sunday )

Do I have that right or is that haranguing you?


226 posted on 02/08/2016 8:01:46 AM PST by one Lord one faith one baptism
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To: MHGinTN

Um, there were 7 days of the week in Jesus day and there are seven days of the week today.

Does “Rome” have that wrong? Lol


227 posted on 02/08/2016 8:03:24 AM PST by one Lord one faith one baptism
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To: MHGinTN

Yes, imagine making a “church” liturgical calendar the final authority over the Bible.


228 posted on 02/08/2016 8:11:19 AM PST by John Leland 1789
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To: one Lord one faith one baptism

There is zero chance that you would understand my answer since you lack the brain power to comprehend post #50, so run along and follow that broad road to that wide gate which Rome endorses.


229 posted on 02/08/2016 8:17:19 AM PST by MHGinTN (Democrats bait then switch; their fishy voters buy it every time.)
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To: MHGinTN

Lol, just as I thought.

All hat and no cattle to be charitable.


230 posted on 02/08/2016 8:21:48 AM PST by one Lord one faith one baptism
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To: one Lord one faith one baptism
;^)
231 posted on 02/08/2016 8:25:49 AM PST by MHGinTN (Democrats bait then switch; their fishy voters buy it every time.)
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To: MHGinTN
Jesus told Philip that all he could see of God The Father Almighty was where God intersected Philip's sensory range, for, as Jesus put it, 'I AM in the Father and the Father is in Me.' 'All you see of The Father is what you see in me.'

Exactly. Because that's true. The father and son are two divine personages in this union.

oly Spirit descended as a dove and Jesus was with us in bodily form. All three Personages of the 'God is One' were present at the Baptism.

Note the difference. There is no statement of jesus saying all three are one. There is your supposition of the nature of Godhead based upon your belief. This goes directly against biblical visions AND descriptions of the Godhead:

Jhn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jhn 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

Two are one. Two are God.

Jhn 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are

Two are one, two are God. No room for the holy spirit.

1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Again two make up God. Not three. I can show you verse after verse that show two. You are beholden to a theory that does not match up with the biblical evidence.

232 posted on 02/08/2016 8:28:04 AM PST by DouglasKC
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To: one Lord one faith one baptism

Wednesday? one week and a day later?


233 posted on 02/08/2016 8:36:51 AM PST by winodog
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To: winodog

Never mind. I just saw you answer it.


234 posted on 02/08/2016 8:38:33 AM PST by winodog
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To: DouglasKC
Whom did Jesus say He would send to the disciples when He left them? Do you understand that Whom to be The Holy Spirit: John 14:25&26
"These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
235 posted on 02/08/2016 8:41:13 AM PST by MHGinTN (Democrats bait then switch; their fishy voters buy it every time.)
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To: one Lord one faith one baptism

I was not trying to set a trap. I don’t play games. I just wanted to make sure I knew what you were saying and gave you many opportunities to make yourself clear. I don’t care much for those who play all the games in these discussions. One of which is sidestepping a direct and pointed question. Not answering directly tells a lot of about the person, which is not necessarily a positive.


236 posted on 02/08/2016 9:05:32 AM PST by lupie
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To: MHGinTN
Whom did Jesus say He would send to the disciples when He left them? Do you understand that Whom to be The Holy Spirit: John 14:25&26 "These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

I'm not sure what the point is. That still doesn't negate every view of the Godhead or any statement by Jesus about who is one and who is God. The fact is that God or Christ interacts with people and the manifestation of that interaction is what's called the spirit of God...or the holy spirit. But it's not a separate entity or person in the Godhead.

As an aside I've always thought it interesting that in this verse this aspect of God's spirit can't or won't appear until after Christ is taken up. In other words, it apparently can't or won't exist until Christ is back in the heavenly realm.

237 posted on 02/08/2016 9:28:45 AM PST by DouglasKC
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To: DouglasKC
I've always thought it interesting that in this verse this aspect of God's spirit ... YES! I too have found this of great interest, and I cannot offer anything of editorial use on the issue, either.

See you in the clouds Doug ...

238 posted on 02/08/2016 11:36:47 AM PST by MHGinTN (Democrats bait then switch; their fishy voters buy it every time.)
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To: one Lord one faith one baptism
Let me say with the utmost confidence that from reading your postings over the years, that you know the same amount about the Faith as I know about Hinduism. ( which is to say, not much )

Let me say that if my reading comprehension was that bad; I'd not make it public.

239 posted on 02/08/2016 12:03:58 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: one Lord one faith one baptism
The doctrine that Jesus died on Wednesday rather than Friday comes from the devil and is a very subtle attack on the Scriptures and the Christian Faith.

The doctrine that THE HOLY SPIRIT is NOT part of the GODhead is non-biblical.

240 posted on 02/08/2016 12:05:18 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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