Posted on 08/31/2020 9:55:30 AM PDT by amessenger4god
Each of the Persons of the Trinity were present at Christ's baptism as recorded in all four gospel accounts |
...because [there] are three who are testifying [[in Heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one; and [there] are three who are testifying in the earth]]: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and the three are into the one. (1 Jn. 5:78, LSV)
...having gone, then, disciple all the nations, immersing them into the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit... (LSV)
The early Church continually searched the Scriptures in an effort to reconcile how their Divine Savior Jesus and the Holy Spirit fit in with the Godhead. For thousands of years it had been absolutely foundational to the Jewish religion that there was only One True God. All the other foreign gods and goddesses were nothing but wood and stone. And if anything more than thatonly demons masquerading as deities. So when Jesus came on the scene claiming to be YHWH in bodily form, and the Son of God, it obviously ruffled some feathers. The Apostles and martyrs trusted Jesus claims all the way to their death and so the early Christians were certainly not going to abandon the Faith for an easy way out. They knew they just had to dig a little deeper to find the truth, which is Gods reality.
Jewish converts to Christianity knew that God was One, but they also knew that Jesus and the Holy Spirit were God, as well. When Mary was first visited by an angel, she was told that her child would be called the Son of God and that the Holy Spirit would conceive the child within herand all of this would be accomplished by the power of the Most High (Luke 1:35). This was the first New Testament glimpse of three Divine Persons working together.
Later, at Jesus baptism, which is recorded similarly in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the three Divine Persons are seen together again: Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended, and God the Father spoke, saying that Jesus was His Son.
And lastly, after Jesus rose from the dead, He commissioned His disciples with the command, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
The writers of the books of the New Testament built further on the concept that Jesus revealed. Peter, James, Paul, and John all furthered this unveiling of the concept that God is One Being subsisting in three Divine Persons. Even the history of Gods revelation to mankind demonstrates this truth: God was first revealed as the Creator of the universe and the Father of His people. Then Jesus came and revealed God as a Son and the Divine, eternal Word. He came to reveal the personality and character of God and to demonstrate Gods infinite love by dying in place of sinners. After Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, the third Divine Person was revealed to be the Holy Spirit, who came upon the Church at Pentecost. In the Holy Spirit, God was revealed to be personal, omnipresent, and above all, holyvery holy.
A long time ago King David wrote:
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
This psalm reveals that God has put the evidence of Himself all around us and all we have to do is open our eyes and see it. Considering this, it makes one wonder if it would be possible to find the concept of three-in-one in our physical universe. Well... it certainly is possible and the evidence is compelling.
The fundamental universe consists of space, time, and matter, and each of these things is precisely three-in-one:
Space, which gives the universe structure, consists of height, width, and depth. Each dimension is necessary or space would not exist. If there was no height then there would be neither width nor depth. And if there was no depth there would be neither height nor width. Each dimension gives the other two dimensions substance. A single, unitary space, consists of exactly three dimensions.
Time, which produces history and change, consists of past, present, and future. Just like space, each aspect is necessary for the others. If there was never a past, then there could not be a present or future. And if there is not a future, then we would be frozen in a three-dimensional picture, like a static hologram. Time consists of a single continuum of exactly three parts: past, present, and future.
Matter, which is the tangible structure of the universe, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the flesh and bones of our bodies, takes the form of a solid, liquid, or gas. Each of the three is distinct, but each remains matter regardless of its form. H2Os forms of water, ice, and steam are a perfect demonstration of this.
Oddly enough, the fundamental parts of the universe are three in number as wellone universe consisting of space, time, and matter.
The Bible describes a human being as consisting of three aspects: the body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 4:12). Three aspects, yet one individual human.
And then there is the water cycle, which goes through three phases: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. The water goes up, it forms a cloud, and then it comes down again. And then the water goes up again and the cycle continues.
The fundamental structure of our planet has three parts too: the crust, the mantle, and the inner core. Many other celestial bodies share this type of structure.
Remember how matter can be found in one of three types? Well the fundamental building-block of matter, the atom, is three-in-one as well. A single, elemental atom has three types of subatomic particles within it: protons, neutrons, and electrons. And just as amazing, elements are either metal, non-metal, or metalloidthree different types that constitute the entirety of the Periodic Table.
Many other examples existhere are just a few:
1. There are three types of rock: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are crystalline structures that are created when magma cools. Sedimentary rocks form when debris settles and is compacted over a long period of time. Metamorphic rocks result when one of the other types of rock undergo an environment change and the rock experiences a transformation.
2. And that is not the end of the line for rocks... there is another example: sedimentary rocks are either clastic, chemical, or organic. Want an explanation? I think you will just have to look that one up!
3. There are three kinds of muscle: cardiac, skeletal, and smooth.
4. Three types of soil: clayey, sandy, and loamy.
5. Three types of stem cells: totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent.
6. Three types of galaxies: spiral, elliptical, and irregular.
7. Three largescale parts in a galaxy: stars, dust, and free-floating gas.
8. Three spheroids in a solar system: stars, planets, and moons.
9. Three fundamental types of government: monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy.
10. Three parts of government: executive, legislative, and judicial.
11. Three kinds of organism relationships: mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
12. Three kinds of love: erotic love, brotherly love, and sacrificial love.
13. Three types of energy: chemical energy, nuclear energy, and electromagnetic energy.
14. Wait a second, I almost forgot! There is another way to define energy: kinetic energy, potential energy, and mechanical energy.
15. Three general kinds of clouds: cumulus, cirrus, and stratus.
16. Three kinds of organisms with cell walls: plants, fungi, and bacteria.
17. Three types of plants: mosses, grasses, and flowering plants.
18. Three levels of a rainforest: the canopy, understory, and forest floor.
19. Three types of neurons: sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons.
20. Three kinds of symmetry: rotation, translation, and reflection.
21. Three kinds of fatty acids: saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated.
22. Three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
23. Three eras of man: Before Christ, Anno Domini, and the new creation of Revelation 21.
I could list hundreds, but I will leave it up to you to discover more. The truth is that the principle of three-in-one is everywhere and in everything. God has left His mark for everyone to see. A particularly interesting argument that Muslims have used to supposedly disprove the Trinity is the mathematical equation 1+1+1=3. Muslim apologists argue that if you add up three parts you end up with, well, three parts, rather than one single part. They make a good point, but miss a glaring problem: God is not parts, He is Persons. You cannot divide God into parts or modes. A more accurate mathematical test of Gods being would be 1x1x1. And guess what that equals? One. 13=1.
13=1 should be 1^3=1. FR doesn’t handle superscript.
Perhaps that’s why we’re given the symbolic imagery of the four beings surrounding the throne, and “day and night without ceasing they sing,
Holy, holy, holy,
the Lord God the Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.”
There is something wonderful and indescribable to our human minds about being in the presence of God in the trinity.
Agreed! The Trisagion is also found in Isaiah 6:3. God is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, because He is three in one. Amen.
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