Wednesday, November 07, 2007

U Believe in the Trinity? Prove it!!!

This is the only illustration of the Trinity I know of that does not lead to or directly teach heresy.

I spoke on this topic tonight, and I'll post here what I gave the people at the 20s ministry of Compass Bible Church. I tried to summarize the Bible's teachings that, when combined, become the doctrine of the Trinity. Here is what I gave them:



The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity

Definition: “God eternally exists as three persons--Father, Son & Holy Spirit--and each person is fully God, [yet] there is one God” (Grudem).

Three Step Proof / Argument
  1. There is Only One God – Deut 4:35, 39; 6:4; 1 Kgs 8:60; Isa 43:10, 45:5-6; Mark 12:29; Eph 4:6; 1 Tim 1:17; James 2:19
  2. The Bible Identifies 3 Persons as Equally God
    1. The Father is God: 1 Cor 8:6; Phil 1:2
    2. The Son is God: John 20:28; Titus 2:13; Heb 1:3-8; 2 Pet 1:1
    3. The Spirit is God: Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19; 2 Cor 3:17-18
  3. The 3 Persons are Distinct from Each Other: Matt 28:19
    1. The Father is NOT the Son: John 14:23, 17:24; 1 Cor 8:6
    2. The Father is NOT the Spirit: John 14:26; Rom 8:26
    3. The Son is NOT the Spirit: John 14:16, 15:26
The Trinity is simply an attempt to summarize the biblical data above without contradiction:
1 God (1 what), 3 Persons (3 who’s)



It seems to me, although I'm no expert, that every heresy denies at least one of the three proofs. Either someone posits more than one God (e.g., Mormons, JWs, Hindus, etc.), denies the deity of one Person (JWs, Islam, Judaism, Mormons, etc.) and/or combines distinct Persons into one Person (oneness Pentecostals, modalists, etc.).

I printed this on little cards that I hope they'll keep it in their Bibles so that when they get that knock on the door they'll be ready to engage rather than retreat.

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