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Making Sense of the Trinity, by Millard EricksonPage|

MAKING SENSE OF THE TRINITY

, Preface and IntroIntroduction and Background:Millard Erickson

What are people’s impressions of the Trinity?

What is it?2.

How does it affect our lives?3.

What makes you believe it?

Why study the Trinity?

Any consequences of just lumping it all together and saying “God did it”?a.

OT folk seemed to not be too concerned with it, or at least left the Trinity poorlydefined.b.

Early church took a while to work through the intricacies of it, but they began torecognize that this was one of the defining differences between Judaism andChristianity!c.

Today, it also separates us from:i.

Monotheism: Judaism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Islamii.

Polytheism: Hinduism (devas)iii.

Pantheism: New age religions (God is all), Christian Science2.

This doctrine, and our view of it, affects our view of God and other doctrines!a.

Example: Equality of Father, Son and Holy Spiriti.

If Jesus was all human, then somehow God had to have forced thecrucifixion (God is in control of His creation, no?). Wouldn’t that be unfair,if Jesus was all human?3.

Better understanding of doctrine drives our doxology. The more aware of who ourCreator is, what has been done for us, the more we will be motivated in our worship.

This book will try to lay out the facts relative to the Trinity

, and clarify as much as possiblethe grayer areas in relation to the Trinity. 3 sections:1.

Is the doctrine of the Trinity Biblical?a.

Do we see it in the Bible?b.

History, etc.2.

Does the doctrine of the Trinity make sense?a.

Logical contradictions? 3 in 1, yet 1?b.

God gave us rationality, apologetic capabilities. Do we need to abandon thosegifts to believe in the Trinity?3.

Does the doctrine of the Trinity make any difference?a.

So what?b.

Any application for our lives?

Making Sense of the Trinity, by Millard EricksonPage|

Unraveling the mystery

: We can continue to build the case surrounding this mystery, but wewill likely not understand it all in our lifetimes.1.

It makes sense that we will not understand every aspect of the Creator of ourselves –He is greater than us! We, as imperfect beings in the Christian faith on this earth,

will

have important questions with no firm answers.a.

An open question can have an answer we don’t know about presently.2.

Faith definition: Belief in the EVIDENCE of things unseen, not the lack of evidence!At the end of the day, what we believe does require some faith, and the doctrine of the Trinity is one of them.a.

Do you have doubts? That is OK! Doubt comes from a mind that thinks it

should

believe. Different than unbelief!3.

Mystery? Yes. Truth? Yes. Both can be true!4.

We don’t have all the answers, but they are coming. It is important to not let smallvariations in interpretations divide us. Pray for unity in interpretation andunderstanding the character of our Creator!a.

1 Cor. 13: 8-13: Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as fortongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know inpart and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will passaway. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasonedlike a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in amirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully,even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, thesethree; but the greatest of these is love.b.

1 Peter 3: 8-12: Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherlylove, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or revilingfor reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that youmay obtain a blessing. For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, lethim keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turnaway from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But theface of the Lord is against those who do evil.

Making Sense of the Trinity, by Millard Erickson / Chapter 1, Is the Doctrine of the Trinity Biblical, Part 1.docx Page|

MAKING SENSE OF THE TRINITY

, Chapter 1: Is the Doctrine of the Trinity Biblical?

Triunity:

the doctrine that affirms the oneness of God, made up of three parts who are also God.1.

Officially endorsed during the Nicene Council ~ 325AD, in response to confusion and theresultant varying doctrines regarding the Trinity that were spreading. NOTE: the notion of theTrinity had existed well before then (at least 160-200 years earlier in writings we have today),making the resultant creed more a clarification than a doctrinal change.2.

Correct doctrines are built on the belief that the Scriptures are true and inspired by God. Ifwe see evidence of the Trinity in ‘God breathed’ Scripture, we have good reason to believe it.The opposite is also true, though: if we don’t see it in Scripture, we must critically evaluateany such doctrine, and question the current understanding and doctrine.3.

Today’s class will review some of the Scripture that points to both the oneness of God and thethree parts that make up ‘God’.

Evidence to be reviewed:

Scripturally, we will review 2 sets of evidence that point to the Trinity.1.

The Bible teaches God is One.2.

The Bible also points to 3 unique, divine beings that make up God.

Unity of God (God is One)

(OT) Deuteronomy 6:1-8 “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that theLord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which youare going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and yourson's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all thedays of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful todo them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, theGod of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Hear, O Israel:The Lord our God, the Lord is one

. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart andwith all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall beon your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them whenyou sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when yourise.a.

Some translations are

The Lord our God, the Lord is one Lord.

Lord = Yahweh = Almighty God; by definition of Almighty, there can be only one.2.

Deuteronomy 5:6,7

I am the Lord your God

, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out ofthe house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.a.

Remember the setting for Deuteronomy: about to enter Promised Land, Moses soon todie, a cry for the Israelites to recognize who God was and how to act accordingly.3.

(NT) James 2:19 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not haveworks? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in dailyfood, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving themthe things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not haveworks, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faithapart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

You believe that God isone

; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!a.

Demons even have faith that God is one – they act on that faith and shudder! Theevidence was and is there!4.

1 Timothy 2:1-6 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, andthanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we maylead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it ispleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to theknowledge of the truth.

For there is one God

, and there is one mediator between God andmen, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony givenat the proper time.