Understanding the Trinity

1
Understanding the Trinity

• The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
work- man that need not be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 216
2
Introduction

• The Trinity or the Triune Godhead
• For many the concept of the Trinity is only a
  matter of theological scruples and should be left
  to theologians.
• It is a common mistake of most Christians to
  write off such doctrines as insignificant and
  unimportant to my everyday experience.
• However, on the contrary your foundation as a
  Christian is built on the everlasting truth of
  the Triune Godhead.

3
Objectives

• At the end of this Course you should be able to
  identify the 3 parts of the Trinity in scripture
  and by definition.
• You should be able to realize the work of each
  part of the Trinity and the impact it has on our
  day to day lives.
• You will be equipped to rightly defend the truth
  in the face of unbelievers, scoffers, and false
  prophets.

4
The Trinity
The Godhead
5
Trinity What does it mean?

• The theological term Trinity signifies the
  union of three PersonsFather, Son, and Holy
  Spirit in the Godhead.
• The laymans definition of the Trinity is thus
  God himself is a committee of one. He is a team
  that has 3 equal and distinct members. Yet they
  are ONE and working together for ONE purpose
  in the best interest of mans soul.

6
Think about it like this

• A tree has 3 distinct parts 1.) The Trunk, 2.)
  The Branches, 3.) The Leaves. Yet it is known as
  a tree, though made up of 3 totally distinct
  parts.
• In the Godhead we find the same. 1.) God, 2.)
  Jesus, 3.)The Holy Ghost.

7
Review

• What is the definition of the word Trinity?
• Name the 3 parts of the Trinity.

8
Historical Fact

• The actual word Trinity is not in the Bible.
• The Doctrine of the Trinity has not always been
  accepted by Religious Scholars.
• Between the 3rd and 4th century A.D. a great
  debate arose about the validity of the doctrine
  of the Trinity.
• A scholarly man named Arius of the sect of the
  Unitarians contended that Christ the Son of God
  was not an eternal being, but created by God for
  the redemption of mankind. (we will see later in
  scripture why this point in and of itself is
  Heresy)
• The First Council at Nice was convoked by
  Constantine for the express purpose of resolving
  this matter.
• Athanasius of Alexandria contended for the deity
  of Christ and rightly proved it through the
  Scriptures. The rejected doctrine is commonly
  known as the Arian Heresy.

9
God the Father

• The first part of the Trinity is God the Father.
  This relative term is used in a two-fold sense.
• First God is known as The Father He is our
  Heavenly Father. David says Thou art my father,
  my God, and the rock of my salvation. Psalms
  8926 What a blessed consolation this is to the
  child of God to know that there is not only a
  God in Heaven, but he has made himself personally
  responsible for our soul and He loves and cares
  for His own.
• Secondly, it is applied to God in contrast with
  Christ to distinguish the one from the other.
  Jesus says My Father worketh hitherto, and I
  work John 517 See also Acts 232, Romans 156,
  Galatians 11-4
• God himself is Eternal. Before the mountains
  were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the
  earth and the world, even from everlasting to
  everlasting, thou art God. Psalms 902 Also
  see Isaiah 5715

10
God the Son

• The second part of the Trinity is God the Son.
  Otherwise known as Jesus Christ.
• Many know the story of Jesus, the babe born in a
  manger, in the town of Bethlehem to Mary and
  Joseph.
• What many dont consider is the Immaculate
  Conception or the Miraculous Birth of Jesus the
  Son of God.
• Consider the verse in Matthew 123 Behold, a
  virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth
  a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
  which being interpreted is, God with us. God the
  Son left his glory in heaven above to dwell with
  sinful man here on earth and to show man the way
  of salvation.
• Jesus himself is Eternal. But thou, Bethlehem
  Ephratah, though thou be little among the
  thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come
  forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel
  whose goings forth have been from of old, from
  everlasting.Micah 52 See also Rev. 2213/16
  St. John 175, Col.117 and various other
  references.

11
Review

• Who refuted the Heretical Doctrine known as the
  Arian Heresy?
• In the Trinity what is God known as? Can you give
  a scriptural reference?
• What was so special about the Birth of Jesus? How
  did this take place?

12
God the Holy Spirit

• The third part of the Trinity is God The Holy
  Spirit. Otherwise known as the Holy Ghost.
• The Holy Spirit is also divine and is a distinct
  person from the Father and the Son. He called
  the Spirit of God. Many only recognize the Holy
  Spirit as a guiding influence, yet He is a
  person. In John 1613 we read Howbeit when he,
  the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide into
  all truth for he shall not speak of himself but
  whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak
  and he will show you things to come.
• The Holy Spirit is Eternal. From the beginning
  we find the work of the Holy Spirit. In the
  beginning God created the Heavens and the
  Earth.. and the Spirit of God moved upon the
  face of the waters.Genesis 11-3

13
Examples of the Trinity in the Scriptures

• In the scriptures we can see each part of the
  Trinity distinctly separate from the others.
  Sometimes we find Jesus - God the Son praying to
  God the Father. Other times we see God the
  Father sending God the Holy Spirit to do His
  will. In any event the evidence of the
  scriptures overwhelmingly supports the Doctrine
  of the Trinity.
• Let us take a moment and see what the Scriptures
  sayeth.
• In Matthew 416-17 we see all three parts of the
  Trinity. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went
  up straightway out of the water and, lo, the
  heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the
  Spirit of God descending like a dove, and
  lighting upon him And lo a voice from heaven
  saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
  pleased.
• In St. John 175 we read where Jesus is praying
  to his Father and reminding Him of the Glory they
  shared in Heaven before the world began. And
  now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own
  self with the glory which I had with thee before
  the world was.
• In Acts 756 Stephen caught a glimpse of Heaven
  and saw that Jesus returned to his place with the
  Father that he had from the beginning. And said,
  Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of
  man standing on the right hand of God.
• In 1 John 57 we find overwhelming proof of the
  evidence as we read For there are three that
  bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word
  (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost and these three are
  one.

14
The Jesus Only Heresy

• We have done much to prove the Eternal Truth of
  the Doctrine of the Trinity. It is factual and
  it is biblical. Yet there are some religious
  groups in the realm of Christianity who deny the
  Trinity in favor of Jesus Only Doctrine. Some of
  these groups include Apostolics and Full Gospel
  churches.
• They contend that God is Jesus only and that is
  the extent of who God is. But in reality we
  realize that God is so great and so vast that the
  heavens and the earth cannot contain him, let
  alone one separate entity.
• To their credit, Jesus is God, but not God alone.
  We have just seen various instances and
  scriptural texts that prove that God is God,
  Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And
  all three are one in God.
• It is absolutely impossible for us to understand
  God outside of His written Word. The human mind
  could not even begin to grasp the concept of God
  without the Word of God to reveal Him unto us and
  the Spirit of God to explain Him to us.
• For there are three that bear record in heaven,
  the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost and
  these three are one.1 John 57

15
Review

• What is the 3rd part of the Trinity?
• What scripture reference plainly shows all 3
  parts of the Trinity at once?
• What is the Jesus Only Doctrine?

16
The Work of the Trinity

• What is the ultimate purpose and work of the
  Trinity? As stated earlier God has made himself a
  committee of one to look out for the best
  interest of mans soul. We know that in the
  beginning sin separated man from God. (Genesis 3
  / Isaiah 591-2) And ever since God has sought to
  be reunited with his most beloved creation,
  mankind. This is the mission of the Trinity. To
  reunite man and God.

17
How does it work?

• Salvation or the Redemption of Mankind is a
  process. It can only be done by the Trinity.
  Man cannot save himself or others.
• It starts with love. For God so loved the world
  that he gave his only begotten son, that
  whosoever believeth in him should not perish but
  have everlasting life.John 316
• No matter what man has done, how low in sin he
  goes, God never stops loving him. (Romans 835)

18

• Immediately after the fall of man in the Garden
  of Eden God conceived a plan for the Full
  Redemption of Man. And the Lord God said unto
  the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou
  art cursed..And I will put enmity between thee
  and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed
  it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise
  his heel.Genesis 314-15
• Right then and there God decided that when the
  time was right He would send His son Jesus in the
  form of man to redeem mankind. Read the
  following
• But when the fulness of the time was come, God
  sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under
  the law, To redeem them that were under the law
  (of sin)Galatians 44-5
• To wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the
  world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
  unto them2 Corinthians 519
• We see God and Jesus working together as separate
  parts of the Trinity to Redeem Man.

19
A Closer Look

• We see God working in Jesus to help the pitiful
  state of fallen mankind, but what does God the
  Holy Spirit do?
• Jesus says in St. John 644 No man can come unto
  me, except the Father which hath sent me draw
  him
• It is the spirit that quickeneth(draws, alerts,
  awakens)St. John 663
• And when he (the Spirit) is come, he will
  reprove (convict) the world (mankind) of
  sinSt. John 168
• All that the Father giveth me shall come to me
  and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast
  out.St. John 637

20
It is Finished!

• So we see in order to receive the experience of
  Full Redemption in Salvation through Jesus Christ
  there is a process that takes place.
• God loves you and sends His Holy Spirit to Draw
  you and Convict you of the Sins youve committed.
• The Holy Spirit does his office work in the heart
  of man and man feels Godly Sorrow for Sins
  committed.
• The Holy Spirit leads man to the Cross of
  Repentance, where Jesus Christ stands with
  outstretched arms to receive and forgive man of
  his sins and brings him back to an acceptible or
  Justified state with God.

21
Anything Else?

• What else does God do through the Trinity?
• The Holy Spirit teaches us all things pertaining
  to Gods Will for our lives. St. John 1446,
  John 1613
• The Spirit bears witness to us that we are
  accepted with God as one of His children. Romans
  816
• The Holy Spirit Teaches us what to pray for and
  how to pray for it. Romans 826-27
• Jesus hears our prayers and he is praying for us
  to. We pray in the name of Jesus and He takes our
  prayers to the Father. Hebrews 725
• God the Father hears our prayers and sends us the
  answer and the blessing of grace that we need.1
  John 514-15

22
Summary

• We hope through this Learning Course that you now
  have a solid understanding of the Doctrine of the
  Trinity. We also hope that it will not be treated
  as a doctrine alone, but a personal experience
  that we have with the Triune Godhead. We
  furthermore pray that you can clearly see how God
  is working to help you in your everyday Christian
  walk.
• Remember God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost have
  your back. They will support you, uphold you, and
  help you. If God be for us, who can be against
  us?
• What can you do with what youve just learned?
  Share it with someone else!

23
Where to Get More Information

• Visit our website at www.churchofgodjacksonmichiga
  n.com
• Write to us at The Church of God 140 W. South
  St. Jackson, MI 49203 c/o Outreach Ministries
  attn Bro. Bobby Beauchamp