We worship one God in trinity!
Posted on 09. Feb, 2010 by Dave Sheath in Blog
Following my sermon last Sunday on John 14 a number of our members approached me to discuss the trinity. A few even suggested it would be helpful to post some stuff on the internet so here it is!
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity was formulated in the 4th century. The need for such a formulation came in the context of teaching which denied the deity of Jesus Christ. In response church leaders from throughout the Mediterranean got together at the Council of Nicea (325 AD) and the Council of Constantinople (381 AD). One of the creeds from the time stated the doctrine like this:
We worship one God in trinity and trinity in unity. Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.
The Bible teaches that there is one and only one God (Isaiah 45). Yet the Bible also speaks of Jesus Christ as God. Explicit references to Jesus as God are Titus 2:13, John 20:28, and John 1:1. There are also Old Testament passages which use the name of God, Yahweh, that are used in reference to Jesus when they are quoted in the New Testament (eg. Romans 10 & Acts 2 quoting Joel 2:32, and Philippians 2 quoting Isaiah 45). The Bible also refers to the Holy Spirit as God (Acts 5:34 & 2 Corinthians 3:17f).
There are other passages in the New Testament where the Father, Son & Spirit are spoken of together. So Jesus commands his disciple to baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28).
One of the important implications of the trinity is that at the very heart of the universe is a God who is relational by very nature. And through the gospel we are caught up in relationship as well – not that we become God, but rather, we are embraced into the intimacy and depth of relationship enjoyed by Father, Son and Spirit.
There are some great online resources that will help you chase down more information on the trinity. Here is the one I have found most helpful. It is from an online Christian encyclopaedia called Theopedia. I really like Theopedia! It is not anywhere near as prolific as Wikipedia but the articles are all on Christian related topics from an evangelical perspective. Here is the article on the trinity: http://www.theopedia.com/Trinity.
