one God one Lord

[alavenderluvbug]

I keep coming across scripture that mentions Christ as Lord and God the Father as God. It seems to me they are talking about 2 different persons. Examples: 1 Cor 8:6, Eph 4:6 How would you defend the Trinity if these kind of verses are brought up?

 

[NotWorthy]

I keep coming across scripture that mentions Christ as Lord and God the Father as God. It seems to me they are talking about 2 different persons. Examples: 1 Cor 8:6, Eph 4:6 How would you defend the Trinity if these kind of verses are brought up?

“I and the Father are One”.

“In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”

There are several more verses, but these come to mind.

 

[alavenderluvbug]

Thank you! I would still like to know why sometimes it seems like 2 different people. Is the trinity not 3 different people sharing one being? How would you word it to someone?

 

[Nita]

The Trinity is three Persons --Father, Son and Holy Spirit – in one God.

Note that in the above definition, the word “God” does not denote a person. The word “person” applies to the “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”.

 

[Eucharisted]

I keep coming across scripture that mentions Christ as Lord and God the Father as God. It seems to me they are talking about 2 different persons. Examples: 1 Cor 8:6, Eph 4:6 How would you defend the Trinity if these kind of verses are brought up?

Jesus is God and Man. Some people seem to forget this, though.

 

[alavenderluvbug]

So like I said before that they are 3 different people with one being? So when Jesus was praying to the Father He wasn’t praying to Himself but really to his Father? Where does the Holy Spirit fit into all of this? Father = Spirit, Son = the spoken word, and the Holy Spirit = ? Am I making any sense to anybody? Am I on the right tract?
Sorry for all of the questions, I just never thought of how to explain this to anyone except for right now.

 

[iaskquestions]

Holy Spirit = exchange of love between the Father and the Son.

 

[alavenderluvbug]

Thanks. I think Frank Sheed spoke that way of the Holy Spirit in his book Theology for Beginners. I read that book a while ago but I don’t have it anymore.

 

[Nita]

It isn’t correct to refer to the 3 Persons of the Trinity as 3 people. The word “people” is limited to human beings (at least I think it is). “Person” has a broader application.

 

[alavenderluvbug]

Well, then that is what I meant people as “persons”
I know they are not people I just couldn’t think of the correct word
I am understanding the concept of the trinity correctly right?

 

[Nita]

Well, then that is what I meant people as “persons”
I know they are not people I just couldn’t think of the correct word
I am understanding the concept of the trinity correctly right?

Yes, I think you are. As long as you recognize there are 3 Persons but NOT 3 Gods.

The Trinity is the biggest mystery of our faith. It’s beyond our human capability to fully comprehend what it means. We know of it only because God has revealed it - we could never have arrived at it through human reason alone.

 

[alavenderluvbug]

I got it!

Thank you for you all your help!

 

[Marocchino]

Here is a letter that I wrote to a Muslim friend of mine who asked me to explain the Holy Trinity:

Christians believe that God is a trinity - that is, God is one nature in three persons.

Concerning the meaning of the word nature, when someone asks “What is God?” we tell them his nature - like Jews and Muslims, we believe that God’s nature is eternal, indivisible, and infinite.

Concerning the meaning of person, when someone asks “Who is God?” we tell them that God is “the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. Yet these three persons are not three Gods, but one God.

Since God is infinite, there cannot be three infinite Gods, for there can only be one infinite thing. In other words, 3 x infinity = infinity, not 3 infinities.

Here are a few analogies by which you may better understand the Christian belief that God is a trinity:

Hold your hand in front of your mouth and say “God”: the thought that generated the word can be compared to the Father, the word itself can be compared to the Son, and the breath that you felt on your hand can be compared to the Holy Spirit. Yet, the thought, the word, and the breath are one.

Another example: light three candles - the three flames can be compared to the three persons of the Holy Trinity; the nature of all three flames is fire, just as the nature of all three persons is God. Now hold the three flames of the candles together – the three flames are now one; the three persons of the Holy Trinity are eternally one.

We Christians look upon the creation of God as an expression of his nature. Notice that the universe is a trinity of time, space, and matter. Yet there are not three universes - the universe is one.

Notice that time is a trinity of past, present, and future. Yet there are not three times - time is one.

Notice that space is a trinity of height, width, and depth. Yet there are not three spaces - space is one.

Notice that matter is a trinity of solid, gas, and liquid. Yet there are not three matters - matter is one.

So, we believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God, yet when Jesus prayed he was not just talking to himself – he prayed to God (that is, the Father). But Jesus and the Father are not two Gods – God is one. As Jesus says, I and the Father are one (John 10:30), and whoever has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9).

And we believe that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, who was given to the apostles of Christ at Pentecost, and whose presence is still with us today. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ and the Father, and he dwells in us. This is why we are told to treat our bodies and the bodies of others with respect, since the human body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

In our Holy Scriptures, the Father is often referred to simply as God, Jesus as Christ or Lord, and the Holy Spirit as the Spirit. Yet all three are equally God and all three have existed as one God in eternity. There was never a time when the Father existed without the Son or the Spirit, just as there is never a time when a flame is without light or heat.

Thus God is like a flame (the Father) that generates light (the Son) and heat (the Spirit). The light generated by the flame strikes our eyes, and this is how we see the flame - in the same way, the Son entered our world by becoming flesh and this is how we see and know God. The heat proceeds from the flame through the light and warms our skin, and this is how we feel the flame – in the same way the Spirit of God proceeds from the Father through the Son and dwells in us, and this is how we feel the presence of God.

This is what we believe about God. These things could not have been figured out by human reason alone – they have been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit speaking through the mouths of the prophets and Jesus Christ, whom we believe is the ultimate revelation of God to humankind.

I hope this helps. This letter is heavily influenced by my readings of Frank Sheed, St. Augustine, and others. Just keep in mind, the Holy Trinity is a mystery too deep for the human intellect. The nature of God is not a cup of water that you drink but a vast ocean that you swim in.

 

[alavenderluvbug]

Thank you so much!