Some troubling verses and the trinity

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whyeyeman

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“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God…” - John 17:3

“for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” 1 Corinthians 8:6

How do these two verses fit in with the doctrine of the Trinity?
 
How does Jesus saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” fit with the fact that Saul was persecuting crowds of Christians, but never did anything to persecute Jesus during His earthly ministry?

God is one, and there is only one God. But there are three Persons in the one God. Similarly (but not in the same way), Christ has a Body composed of many billions of people.

The Trinity was not made up. It is a doctrine based directly on Jesus’ teaching and the teachings of the Old Testament. There’s a lot going on, which is why it is a very deep and mysterious teaching.
 
Why is John problematic?

The quote from Corinthians says there is only one God. It mentions the Father. It says all is from Him. It mentions Jesus. It says all is through him. What is wrong with that? It is attributing all of existence to the Father and the Son.
 
As for John, he is talking to the father and he says: you are the only true God.
 
whyeyeman said:
It says there is but one God, the father.
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If you stop where you did. I think it is saying there is only one God. The Father and Jesus are two of the three persons that are that one God. St. Paul is attributing creation to the Father and Jesus. So both must be God. And as he says there is only one God. This is Trinitarian.
whyeyeman said:
As for John, he is talking to the father and he says: you are the only true God.
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That is true. I recommend the Athanasian Creed:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02033b.htm
…So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not Three Gods, but One God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not Three Lords but One Lord…
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In the Gospels, we read about the message, but in the light of limited understanding of God’s revelation. Truth did not change, but man’s understanding of it developed, just as it does with every other subject. A little Googling and reading of the Early Church Fathers vs. Arius will certainly help to clarify. Arius denied the divinity of Christ and sharply divided the early Church for about 400 years. The Council of Nicaea, among others, dealt with the understanding of the trinity, as the Arian heresy forced them to deal with it.
 
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