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Triune Nature of Almighty GodReader comment on item: Is Allah God? - Continued Submitted by M. Tovey (United States), Jan 27, 2010 at 15:49 Probably one of the more difficult things about Christianity is trying to define something about the nature of Almighty God without consulting with Him. The question, "Does anyone understand the Trinity(?)"is one of the more controversial aspects of witnessing to an unsaved world just who our LORD is. And why does a Christian have this relationship with Him and His Son, the LORD Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit? The simple answer is found the Holy Bible, not in the Nicene Creed, nor in the writings of Origen, Aquinas, etc., or any of the various expositors that do not explain their answer from the perspective of the Almighty God who has given us His version. First of all, it is correct to note that the word 'trinity' IS NOT in the Holy Bible, but in the Holy Bible we must find the answer that allows us a relationship with Almighty God, in HIS terms, not ours. It is mentioned here that it does not take a doctorate to bring us to an understanding of the nature of Almighty God, and if correctly understood, any believing layman/woman has the means available to ascertain just how the relationship works. To begin, read the words of Jesus Christ, already determined by Holy Writ to be the best starting point. Jesus Christ does not speak in analogies to those with whom He has his best audience, those that have Him in their lives in faith. But hah(!), therein lies the rub, that if we have faith in Him, we have the basis for all of the answers of His nature. For those who do not have that faith, and are looking for reasons to believe (or not), there is the problem of getting involved in the trivial pursuits of debating such things while getting lost in the arguments and never arriving at the true destination, that of being on board with Jesus Christ when He arrives and calls for those who are His in faith. A more compelling argument, primarily held by the modern context of the Judaic and Islamic conventions is that 'God is One,' sole and Almighty, thereby minimizing the need to try and define a multiplex deity. It is in fact, more of the heart of the controversy between Islam and Christianity; but remember that it came from the Herod-era Jewish determination that Jesus Christ could not have been the Son of Almighty God(contrary to the evidence and witness of Jesus Christ Himself), and He was crucified for that contention. Islam picks that up from the later attempt at divination from the Islamic Prophet. Now, we read from the previous post that there are three manifestations of Brahman, of which this reader acknowledges a limited experience, and will not dwell upon it other than to say, the Holy Bible's references to the Deity of Almighty God predate Brahman and Jesus Christ is not Vishnu. But let's get down to it: can a layman discuss an intelligent line of reasoning that leads to a conclusion of the 'trinity?'Is even such a thing possible? Even more important, is making sense of such a thing necessary to believe in the first place, or is it (as so many –like the Adversary-would say) a waste of time? As alluded to and stated clearly above, only by discerning the truth in the Holy Bible is there any means to arrive at an answer. But the scriptures mentioned in the previous post are inadequate to arrive at a meaningful conclusion, for if a real intention to know and understand Almighty God is sought after, it should be with the intention to act positively upon the truth, once it is known. Otherwise, it is a diversion of human logic with tragic consequences. Who does Almighty God say He is? Let's start from the part of the Holy Bible that is from the wisdom books, one of my favorites being Job. Job 40:1) Moreover, the LORD answered Job, and said, 2) Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct [him]? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. 3) Then Job answered the LORD, and said, 4) Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. 5) Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yes, twice; but I will proceed no further. Job 40:6) Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 7) Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou to me. 8) Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? 9) Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like his? 10) Deck thyself now [with] majesty and excellence; and array thyself with glory and beauty. 11) Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one [that is] proud, and abase him. 12) Look on every one [that is] proud, [and] bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. 13) Hide them in the dust together; bind their faces in secret. Job 40:14) Then will I also confess to thee that thy own right hand can save thee. From there, we might move to Genesis 18:1) And the LORD appeared to him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2) And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3) And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Then let us see in Exodus 3:14) And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: And he said, Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me to you. 15) And God said, moreover, to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me to you: this [is] my name for ever, and this [is] my memorial to all generations. Then 1Kings 22:19) And he (Elijah) said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. Then we approach the book that has more than enough for the faith it seeks after, where we read in Isaiah 6:1) And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory. Isaiah 8:13) Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread. Isaiah 9:6) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7) Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 61:1) The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to publish good tidings to the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound;2) To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; Next, we may peruse Psalms 2:2) The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, [saying],…….then 4) He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 6) Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.Then Psalms 2:11) Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12) Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all they that put their trust in him. Now, we have started in the Judaic books of the Tanach, but we can advance our study (a term loosely used here, for it is real hard to reduce thirty years of seeking His truth to a mere few lines)to the witness of Jesus Christ Himself: Luke 4:1) And Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit, returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,2) Being forty days tempted by the devil. And in those days he ate nothing; and when they were ended, he was afterward hungry.3) And the devil said to him, If thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.4) And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Luke 4:14) And Jesus returned in the power of the spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the surrounding region. Luke 4:18) The spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20) And he closed the book, and he gave [it] again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21) And he began to say to them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. So, we can actually fill this post with literally dozens of references to help provide some meager human understanding of the nature of Almighty God, but that which is demonstrated here is not a proof of the trinity, for actually I have not endeavored to prove the 'trinity,' since, as I have said before, there is no such Biblical reference. Instead, what we do read in the Holy Bible is that the true and complete nature of Almighty God is reserved to Himself. What we have here then is the references of revealing His complex nature, of a stated personality of the Father (Jesus Christ's own reference to the Father), the Son as predicted in Isaiah and fulfilled at Jesus Christ's baptism, and the Holy Spirit(again at the baptism) and at the fulfillment of Isaiah 61. Do I need to prove that there are only three? No, only that in faith, I am given only the references of three, and in faith it is sufficient. After all, who am I, a mere mortal, to question the thinking and motives of a triune Deity that has sent His only Son to redeem me from my sins and execute His promise of eternal life for me. Dare I question that? No thank you; I am content to honor Him at His WORD, and to praise Him for allowing me into by His grace into His realm. Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". << Previous Comment Next Comment >> Reader comments (921) on this item
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