Doctrine -Trinity

Samuel Abhishek
 What does bible say about trinity?
Why is it trinity (only 3 in number)?
Are they male, female or formless?
How do they look like?
Where do they live?
1+1+1=? (Mathematical unity)
How are they related?
Who has the ultimate authority?
 What is trinity?
What is it not?
Who is God? Qualities, uniqueness
How many Gods? Singularity, Plurality
Who is greatest amongst the three?
Unity in works
Relationship within Godhead
Dual nature of Jesus
Why should I understand trinity and what it
means to me?
4
 Trinity describes three inseparable truths of the Christian
faith:
God is three persons- Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Each person Father, Son and Holy Spirit is fully God.
There is one God

This doctrine reveals God as Father, Son & Spirit three

distinct persons but one in true essence

Trinity is at the heart of the Christian view of God

This doctrine is part of Gods revelation of One who is

infinite to those who are finite.
- No one has still fully understood the doctrine of the triune God
- This is no surprise because who can understand the mind of God?
(Job 11:7,8)
 Is God a mathematical unity or is there a plurality in His
personality?
Two of the great monotheistic religions, Judaism and Islam, hold that
God is absolutely one and any kind of plurality within His being is
tantamount to blasphemy
They ask, How can one be three and three be one? This is a
contradiction. How can 1+1+1 be equal to 1?

Orthodox Christian perspective has always been

trinitarian:
Only one God exists
This God exists eternally in three distinct persons (Father, Son &
Spirit)
They are fully equal in every divine perfection; possess alike the
fullness of divine

UESIs doctrinal statement:

The Unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Sprit in the Godhead
 This doctrine was not forced out of the Bible but
necessitated because of pressure from outside the
church, which threatened to destroy the deity of
Christ.

False teachers who use biblical words to make them

mean something other than what God intended in
early Church history

Modern repetition of many of the belief systems which

were fought against by the early church

Hence the use of technical words like Trinity to

achieve precision of meaning & prevent subtle
distortions of doctrine

Although we cannot fully understand this doctrine we

should at least try to know what can be known
What trinity is not?
 Arianism

Only The Jesus Is A The Holy Spirit Is

Father Is God Created Being Not A Person But
An Impersonal
Force
Jehovah Witnesses
declare that Jesus
was created as the
Archangel, Michael
 Tritheism/Polytheism

God the Jesus Is a The Holy Spirit

Father Is One Second God Is a Third God
God Separate from Separate From
The Father The Father And
Jesus
 Modalism/Oneness
The Father Is Jesus Is The The Holy Spirit
Jesus Father Is The Father

The Father Is Jesus Is The The Holy Spirit Is

The Holy Spirit Holy Spirit Jesus

One God Three Manifestations

The Biblical
Trinity

One God In
Three persons

Each co-equal
and co-eternal
 Evidence for existence of God
World, design, origin, destiny, life, diversity
Virtues truth, justice, dignity, etc.
What do we mean by God?
What makes Him God?
God is the only being existent in this world, the
reason for whose existence is in Himself. Every
other existing entity finds the reason for their
existence outside of themselves, in that sense He
alone is perfect, His very existence is uncaused,
He just exists. Exo 3:13,14
 God is spirit Deut 33:27, Ps 33:18
God is self conscious (able to be aware of
ones self among others)
God has personality Intellect, emotions, will
Attributes
Self existent, self sufficient, infinite, omnipresent,
omniscient, omnipotent, immutable, sovereign,
incomprehensible, eternal, holy, just, faithful, etc.
 Sovereign God
All free
All knowing
All powerful
There can be only one all free, all powerful,
all knowing being. God cannot be many. To
be sovereign, God should be one in essence.
What does bible say?
OT: Deut 4:35, 39; 6:4; 32:39, 2 sam 22:32, Isa
37:20; 43:10; 44:6-8; 45:5; 14; 21-22; 46:9
NT: John 5:44; Rom 3:30; 16:27; 1 cor 8:4-6; Gal
3:20; Eph 4:6; 1 Tim 1:17; 2:5; James 2:19; Jude 25
 God is sovereign and eternal
He must be self sufficient, doesnt require anything
outside of him for existence (Psa 50:10-12)
Intellect activity of mind
Emotions feeling about another
Will decide and act freely
We need someone to express these feelings
Humans cannot live in isolation
Love needs atleast 2 people and if God is
singular, He needs someone to express His love
(dependency) Islam contradictory
So, GOD MUST BE PLURAL IN PERSON
 Father is God yet distinguishes Himself from
the Son and the Spirit (Deu 14:1; 2 Sam 7:14)
The Son is God yet distinguishes Himself
from the Father and Spirit (Mt 12:31, Lk 4:18)
Spirit is God and yet distinguishes Himself
from the Father and the Son (2 Cor 13:14)
The three converse Gen 1:26, 3:22, 11:7, Isa
6:8, 48:16)
 To be self sufficient, God has to be plural but if
they are independent, sovereignty is lost
No time lag
No communication gap
Perfect telepathy
For Him to be plural and one at the same time,
He should be one in essence but plural in being

Trinity: God is not three in essence and three in

persons. God is not one in person and three in
essence. God is one in essence and three in
persons.
 Mutually indwell but act as one
Distinct wills but act in harmony unity in
expression, no contradictons
Creation Isa 44:24, Col 1:16; Ps 104:30
Redemption Heb 9:4
Resurrection Acts 2:32, John 10: 17-18
Father Creation
Son Redemption
Holy spirit - Comforter
 Attributes Father Son Holy Spirit
Deity Rev 21:3-7 Jn1: 1 Acts 5:3-4
Self Existence Ex3: 14,15 Jn 8:58 Gen 1:2
Omnipotence Ps62:11 Heb1:3 Job33:4
Omniscience Jer 17:10 Mt 9:4 I Cor 2:11
Omnipresence Jer 23: 24 Mat 28:20 Ps 139:7
Holiness Lev 11:44 Acts 3:14 Jn 14:26
Absolute Jn 7:28 Rev 3:7 1 Jn 5:6
Truthfulness
Eternal Ps 90:2 Rev 1:8,17 Heb 9:14
Goodness Rom 2:4 Eph 5:25 Neh (:20

what the Father is capable of which the son and spirit cannot do?
What the Son is capable of which the Father and spirit cannot do?
 All three persons of trinity co-exist and are
equal
Son submits to the father doesnt mean He is
inferior
Son sent the Holy Spirit doesnt mean the spirit is
inferior
Inter related and have unbreakable oneness
If one of them is removed, the other two
cannot remain intact
Love is the binding force
 100% God Psa 110:1, Isa 7:14, Dan 7:13,14
100% man Rom 8:3, Phil 2:7, Heb 4:15
Personhood is never divided and two natures
never confounded
Was and is the same divine person before and
after incarnation
Names and attributes refer to his humanity
 Son of man
Ministry on earth
Suffering in the hands of man
Lived, dined with man but died for man
Calling Himself Son of man doesnt deny His deity
Son of God
Reflection of the Father
Image of God (words, deeds)
Incarnation of Jesus Christ did not involve the
subtraction of deity, but addition of humanity
 Everything that matters in Christianity hangs on
the truth of Gods three-in oneness
The Father was still on the throne when Jesus came to
earth
Only if Jesus is God come to us in person can He deal
with our sins, to die on our behalf
Every believer has experienced Gods regenerating
power through the HS this is God himself at work in us
It Reveals The True Nature Of God
It Determines The Uniqueness Of:
The Father - The Son - The Holy Spirit
It Determines Correct Worship
God must be known and worshipped as He is, not just as we suppose Him to be
It Validates The Power Of Christs Sacrifice
 The Teaching of the Holy Trinity is the
foundational teaching of the Christian faith.
All other teachings flow from this teaching.
The Christian God is a Trinity -- 3 in 1; thus,
we say 3 Persons in 1 God
The 3 Persons of the Holy Trinity are
separate but equal.
The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity is strictly
monotheistic (one God).
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is clearly
founded in scripture -- each has a will, each
speaks and each is called God.
We can only believe in the Holy Trinity
through the light of faith (the gift of faith).