On Jan 5, 12:52=A0am, bob young <alaspect...@netvigator.com> wrote:
Carl wrote:
In the following brief, Dr. Walter Martin explains Biblically the doctri=
ne
of the Trinity.
I don't need ten pages, I will do it for you in two lines:
The trinitiy is simply religious dgma using the old adage;
'Three is more believable than one'
I suppose to some that would be correct, only I do not see any reason
to accept that as most people will say they have 1, a body, 2 a soul,
3 spirit, and have no problem pointing out that they are one person.
"me, myself and I" still pointing to only one being. It is dogma
that has no foundation in scripture, but in what man thinks is the
meaning of words such as "person" which is seen as a grammatical
category used in the classification of pronouns, possessive
determiners, and verb forms according to whether they indicate the
speaker, the addressee, or a third party. It is also seen as "human
being". I looked up the word "person" and found this:
1 : human, individual =97 sometimes used in combination especially by
those who prefer to avoid man in compounds applicable to both sexes
=B2chairperson=B3 =B2spokesperson=B3
2 : a character or part in or as if in a play : guise
3 a : one of the three modes of being in the Trinitarian Godhead as
understood by Christians b : the unitary personality of Christ that
unites the divine and human natures
4 a archaic : bodily appearance b : the body of a human being; also :
the body and clothing =B2unlawful search of the person=B3
5 : the personality of a human being : self
6 : one (as a human being, a partnership, or a corporation) that is
recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties
7 : reference of a segment of discourse to the speaker, to one spoken
to, or to one spoken of as indicated by means of certain pronouns or
in many languages by verb inflection
=96per=A3son=A3hood \-=83h=98d\ noun
=96in person : in one's bodily presence
In this expanation they use the term "modes" in the Trinitarian
Godhead. Nothing "clear" which only shows people will put dogma
statement so it seem it supports their point of view.
A religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof and
passed off as A doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative,
then one needs to ask why ten pages if it is such a simple doctrine
one or two lines is all it takes in most church statements of belief
for the teaching of the Trinity.
Thank you for your input and hope you have a Nice New Year 2008
Raymond
www.pioneers-for-jesus.org
May God bless,
Carl
my website --http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog --http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
The Doctrine Of The Trinity
by Dr. Walter Martin
=A0 =A0 =A0The Doctrine of the Trinity teaches that within the unity of =
the one
Godhead there are three separate persons who are coequal in power, natur=
e,
and eternity. This doctrine is derived from the clear teaching of Script=
ure,
and is not a man-made doctrine as some (such as the Jehovah's Witnesses)=
have claimed. Let us briefly examine some of the New Testament evidences=
for
this important doctrine.
=A0 =A0 =A01. The Incarnation. The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ as des=
cribed in
the accounts in Matthew and Luke show that the doctrine of the Trinity w=
as
not a later invention of theologians. Luke records what an angel said to=
Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most Hig=
h
will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son o=
f
God" (Luke 1:35).
=A0 =A0 =A0Since other passages of Scripture reveal that the term "Most =
High"
refers to God the Father, we have in Luke a concrete instance of the Hol=
y
Spirit, the Father, and the Son all being mentioned together in the
supernatural event of the Incarnation.
=A0 =A0 =A02. The Baptism of Our Lord. When Jesus Christ was baptized, t=
he heavens
opened and the Holy Spirit "descended on him in bodily form like a dove.=
And
a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am we=
ll
pleased'" (Luke 3:21-22). In these verses we see the Son being baptized,=
the
Spirit descending upon Him, and the Father bearing testimony.
=A0 =A0 =A03. Discourses of Christ. In John 14--16 Christ speaks of the =
persons of
the Trinity in His Upper Room Discourse. Jesus declared to the disciples=
,
"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be=
with you forever -- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him,
because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he live=
s
with you and will be in you" (John 14:16-17). Our Lord here prays to the=
Father for the Spirit, and His emphasis on triunity is quite apparent. I=
n
John 14:26 and 15:26 Christ uses the same formula, mentioning the three
persons of the Deity and indicating their unity, not only of purpose and=
will but of basic nature.
=A0 =A0 =A04. Paul's Letters. The apostle Paul definitely taught the tri=
une nature
of God. He wrote: "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love =
of
God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Cor. 13:1=
4).
It would have been difficult for Paul to give this benediction if the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were not equal persons within the Godhead.
=A0 =A0 =A05. The Great Commission. In Matthew 28:18-20 the Lord Jesus c=
ommissions
the disciples to go out and preach the gospel and to make disciples of a=
ll
nations. He commands them also to baptize "in the name of the Father, an=
d of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Taken with the other passages bearing =
on
the subject, this becomes an extremely powerful argument for the Christi=
an
doctrine of the trinity.
=A0 =A0 =A06. Creation. Although the Bible does not explain to us how th=
e three
persons are the one God, it tells us most emphatically that the Spirit o=
f
God created the world (Gen. 1:2), the Father created the world (Heb. 1:2=
),
and the Son created the world (Col. 1:16). If you check the creation
references in the New Testament, you will see that these particular
references are bolstered by several others teaching the same things.
=A0 =A0 =A0The apostle Paul declared in Acts 17:24, "the God who made th=
e world
and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live i=
n
temples built by hands." This forces us to an irresistible conclusion. A=
s
creation has been attributed to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit=
singly and collectively, they are the one God. There cannot be three god=
s.
The Scripture declares: "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the ea=
rth;
for I am God, and there is no other" (Isa. 45:22). Hence there is unity =
in
trinity and trinity in unity.
=A0 =A0 =A07. The Resurrection of Christ. A final instance of Trinitaria=
n emphasis
is that of the resurrection of our Lord. In John 2 Christ declared to th=
e
Jews, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days" (v.=
19). John hastens to tell us that Jesus was speaking of the resurrection=
of
His earthly body (v. 21). Other Scriptures, however, state that Christ w=
as
raised by the agency of the Holy Spirit (e.g., Rom. 8:11). And Peter
explicitly states that the Father raised the Son (Acts 3:26). So, again,=
God's Word affirms the triune nature of God. We may not fully understand=
the
great truth of the Trinity. However, we can see the rays of light which
emanate from God's Word and which teach us that, in a mysterious sense
beyond the comprehension of man's finite mind, God is one in nature but
three in person.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
.
