Paradox
Apparent
contradiction
2
Cor.12:10 "That
is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in
hardships, in
persecutions,
in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Oxymoron
A combination of contradictory words eg cruel kindness, a still wind.
Antinomies
"A contradiction
between two equally valid principles or between inferences correctly
drawn from
such principles"
Anti
against nomos
law
Thus against
human law
or reasoning.
Why we can
not understand
everything here on earth is due to a limited flawed mind under the
influence
of sin.
Deut. 29:29 "The
Secret
things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us
and to our sons forever"
Isaiah 55:8-9 "For
my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the
LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your
ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
1 Cor.1:21 "For
since in
the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God
was
pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who
believe."
1 Cor.13:12 "Now
we see
but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now
I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. "
Luke 10:21 "At
that time
Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you,
Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the
wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father,
for
this was your good pleasure."
Heresy
Heresy occurs when
we try
to bring doctrine down to our level, rather than acknowledging that God
is understandable but that we can not understand everything.
The Trinity
The Trinity can be
summarised
as :The Father is God, the Son is God, The Holy Spirit is God.
There
is one God"
B.B. Warfield
"There is only one God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three
coeternal and coequal Persons, the same in substance but distinct in
subsistence."
The Father
is God
1 Peter 1:2 "God
the Father
decided to choose you as his people.."
The Son is
God
John 20:28-29
"Thomas replied,
"You are my Lord and my God!"
Jesus said,
"Thomas, do
you have faith because you have seen me? The people who have faith in
me
without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!"
Titus 2:13 "We
are filled
with hope, as we wait for the glorious return of our great God and
Saviour
Jesus Christ."
John 14:9
"Jesus answered:
"Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a
long
time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say,
`Show
us the Father'?"
Jesus replied:
Philip, I
have been with you for a long time. Don't you know who I am? If you
have
seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the
Father?"
John 5:18 "Now
the leaders
wanted to kill Jesus for two reasons. First, he had broken the law of
the
Sabbath. But even worse, he had said that God was his Father, which
made
him equal with God."
The Holy Spirit
is God
Acts 5:3 "Peter
said, "Why
has Satan made you keep back some of the money from the sale of the
property?
Why have you lied to the Holy Spirit? The property was yours before you
sold it, and even after you sold it, the money was still yours. What
made
you do such a thing? You didn't lie to people. You lied to God!"
1 Cor. 2:10-11
"God's Spirit
has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is
deep in the mind of God. You are the only one who knows what is in your
own mind, and God's Spirit is the only one who knows what is in God's
mind.
The three persons
are distinctive
Matthew 28:19
"Go to the
people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptise them in the
name
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" (Father, Son, Spirit)
1 Peter
1:2 "God the
Father decided to choose you as his people, and his Spirit has made you
holy. You have obeyed Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his
blood."(Father,
Spirit, Son)
Hebrews 9:14
"How much more,
then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead
to death, so that we may serve the living God!" NIV (Son, Spirit,
Father)
)
2 Cor. 13:14 "I
pray that
the Lord Jesus Christ will bless you and be kind to you! May God bless
you with his love, and may the Holy Spirit join all your hearts
together.
" (Son, Father, Spirit)
John 15:26 "I
will send you
the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit
will help you and will tell you about me." (Spirit, Father, Son)
Matt. 3:16-17
"So Jesus was
baptised. And as soon as he came out of the water, the sky opened, and
he saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. Then a voice
from
heaven said, "This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him."
(Spirit,
Son, Father)
There is one
God
Exodus 20:3 "You
shall have
no other gods before me."
Isaiah 46:9
"Remember the
former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am
God, and there is none like me."
Isaiah 43:10 "You
are my
witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so
that
you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no
god
was formed, nor will there be one after me."
1 Cor. 8:4 "So
then, about
eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all
in the world and that there is no God but one. "
Traditional
different
roles within the Trinity
+
Father:
is Creator and eternally Father.
+
Son:
is the image of God in the flesh and aims to glorify the Father. The
only
eternally begotten Son.
+ The
Spirit:
proceeds from the Father and the Son to glorify Jesus. He brings about
the completion of creation and redemption.
Unity within
the Trinity
John 10:30 "I am
one with
the Father."
John 15:26 "I
will send you
the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit
will help you and will tell you about me."
Earthy
illustrations of
the Trinity
How do each of the
following
fall down as illustrations of the Trinity
Space:
length, width,
height
Matter:
energy, motion,
phenomena
Time:
past,
present , future
Water: Ice,
water,
steam
Source,
manifestation, meaning
Motive, actions,
consequences
The three leaf
clover
* How can we
water the
doctrine of the Trinity down? How can it give us a wrong view of
God?
Practical
insights
* Unity
within diversity
Romans 11:36 " For
from
him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory
forever!
Amen."
* God is
unique
*
Redemption: all are
involved.
1 John 4:9-10
"This is how
God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the
world
that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God,
but
that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins"
* The
ultimate fellowship
John 17:,5,24 "And
now,
Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you
before
the world began."Father, I want those you have given me to be with me
where
I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you
loved
me before the creation of the world."
John 17: 22
-23 "I
have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we
are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity
to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you
have loved me."
* Prayer
Romans 8:26-27 "In
the same
way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought
to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that
words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of
the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance
with God's will."
John 16:23-24
"In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth,
my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have
not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your
joy
will be complete."
