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From: homeier@aero.ARPA (Peter Homeier )
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Trinity
Message-ID: <326@aero.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 6-Aug-85 13:26:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: aero.326
Posted: Tue Aug  6 13:26:57 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 12-Aug-85 21:18:06 EDT
References: <135@lmef.UUCP>
Reply-To: homeier@aero.UUCP (Peter Homeier (MISD))
Distribution: net
Organization: The Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA
Lines: 113

Susan, thank you for that lovely poetry on the Trinity.  It inspired me
to attempt to discuss the Trinity.  I must say that I do not feel like
this is something that I understand at all well.  In fact, the more I
grow in Christ, it seems that the less I feel I do understand about the
mystery of the Triune God.  But for what it's worth, here are some
thoughts on this three-fold nature of our Lord.

As Christians, we worship One God, not a pantheon as in some other religions.
We believe that there is One being who made us and loves us, and who rules the
universe.  In Deuteronomy 6:4 it is written, "Hear, O Israel:  The Lord our
God, the Lord is one!" (NKJV).  There are not separate gods, who could have
separate desires or goals, or who could disagree among themselves.
Nevertheless Scripture reveals that there is a multiple nature to God, which
is usually described as God being three Persons, which are the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Although the nature of the Trinity is most clearly expressed in the New
Testament, there are an abundance of references to this in the Old Testament as
well, beginning in Genesis 1:26, at the very beginning:  "Then God said, 'Let
Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;'".  Also, after the fall,
in Genesis 3:22, "Then the Lord God said, 'Behold, the man has become like one
of Us, to know good and evil.'".  (NKJV)  In these scriptures God describes
himself as plural.  This is not just a 'royal' we, such as a President might
use in order to appear more dignified, but a reference to His multiple nature.

We can see the three members of the Trinity revealed at the time of Jesus's
baptism by John in Matthew 3:16-17: "Then Jesus, when He had been baptized,
came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him,
and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.'".

Jesus taught about the Trinity during the Last Supper, when He promised the
gift of the Holy Spirit (John 15:26): "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall
send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
He will testify of Me."

Again, these are not three different gods, but one God.  Jesus declared that He
was One with the Father: "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them,
that they may be one just as We are one." (John 17:22).  The Holy Spirit was
also declared to be God in Acts 5:3-4: "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan
filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of
the land for yourself?  ... You have not lied to men but to God.'".

In the book of Revelation we see the Throne Room of God the Almighty in
chapters 4 and 5.  The Father is presented as the One who sits upon the
Throne, with the Lamb (Jesus) at his side, and with the Spirit burning in
seven lamps of fire before the Throne.

I would like now to turn to each member of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, and try to describe my meager understanding of the nature of each.  I
welcome whatever help others can give me in adding to or correcting this.

The Father is the Creator of the universe.  He is the One who sits upon the
Throne and administers all that is.  He is the source and image of holiness,
and all our images of beauty and perfection flow from Him.  He is unable to
look upon unrighteousness, but nevertheless loves in an unimaginable flow
towards all men, including those not saved.  He is the Judge of all creatures,
the One before whom all will have to give account on the day of Judgement for
every deed that they have done, good and evil.  He is also the One who forgives
us our sins, because of the blood of Jesus shed on the Cross.  He sees that
sacrifice, and forgets our sins, for everyone who has come under that cleansing
flood.  Mostly, He loves us with a love as wide as the skies.  He sent the Son
to Earth to die for us, in His most wonderful act of love ever.

The Son is Jesus Christ, born of Mary and the Holy Spirit, both fully Man and
fully God.  He existed with the Father before anything was created, and will be
with Him at the end of all things.  "I am the beginning and the end, the Alpha
and the Omega."  He lived in humility as a man, taught his disciples, was
rejected by the religious leadership of the Jews, and was crucified on a cross
for proclaiming Himself to be the Messiah, the Promised One, who was sent by
the Father to bring deliverance to His people.  How little they understood of
Him!  The deliverance Jesus brought was not just a release from Roman tyranny,
but a breaking of the power of sin over people and of the power of Satan over
the earth.  The power of the accomplishment of Jesus on the Cross will defeat
any darkness it is brought near to.  Jesus is also the One who will come again
to establish His kingdom here on earth, and to sweep away all evil forces in
the battle of Armageddon.

The Holy Spirit is also God, but is sometimes not so clearly understood as the
other Persons of the Trinity.  He is the active force which accomplishes the
words of the Father.  He is the power that worked the miracles that Jesus
worked, from walking on the water to knowing intimate details of people's lives
that Jesus came to.  The Holy Spirit is referred to as the Comforter, the One
who comes alongside us in our sorrows and hardship of life.  He is called the
Spirit of truth, which gives us witness in our hearts of the truth when we hear
it.  "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things, and bring to your rememberance all things that
I said to you." (John 14:26)  It is the Spirit which convicts unbelievers
of their sin and of their need for Jesus.  Without His aid no one would
ever soften their heart to accept Jesus as their Lord.  The Holy Spirit
is referred to as 'He', and He is definitely personal, from my experience
with Him!  The Holy Spirit is also an empowering force.  When a Christian has
been baptised with the Holy Spirit, they have been empowered by the power of
the Holy Spirit to walk not like other men, but in the new life that Christ
calls us to.  We are empowered to confess Jesus to others, to give witness
to the new life in us, to desire to know God, to surrender our lives to him
in general and in particular points of obedience.  With the baptism also come
specific gifts of miraculous power, to heal the sick, to prophesy, and to
speak in other tongues.  These gifts are not given for selfish pride, but to
build up and serve the other Christians in the Body.  Finally, it is the Spirit
who makes all Christians everywhere one.  Our unity is found in that we have
all received One Spirit into our heart, which binds us together in love.

Much more obviously can be said for each member of the Trinity.  The most
prominent thing which is common to all is the complete love that He gives to
us.  God is the most tender, compassionate, gentle and forgiving person we can
ever meet.  In all of the ways He expresses Himself, that is the chief theme.
Love.

                                 In Christ's name,
                                      Peter Homeier
                                 ARPANET: homeier@aerospace