[30Cal]

Originally Posted by avb3

Time for a revival of sorts.

Question asked on another forum, with no answer. Perhaps one of the faithful can answer it here.

Can someone explain the Holy Trinity to me?

I know there is only one god, and there are three persons in this one god. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

So presumably, before the year one, there were only two. The Father and the Holy Ghost.
So what would that be called then? The Holy Duo? Did the Jews worship a Holy Duo?

But how can he be the Father, when he hasn't yet got a Son?

And What's the difference between the Father, who isn't a father, and the Holy Ghost?
Surely, they are BOTH holy ghosts? As neither are human, both are of the spirit world.

The word "Trinity" is nowhere to be found in the Bible. However, the concept or an understanding that defines the term "Trinity" can be found expressed through the pages of God's word.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." - John 1:1-5

The following verse is referring to the manifestation of the Word (Jesus) becoming flesh:

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." - John 1:14. This verse alone indicates that the two are one of the same.

Jesus had His beginning before His manifestation in the flesh, as God would have likewise had His beginning as He always was:

"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." - John 17:5

"who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."
2 Timothy 1:9-10

God has commanded that He alone was to be worship:

"And God spoke all these words, saying: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image —any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me." - Exodus 20:1-5

More specifically, Jesus knew that only God was to be worshiped:

"Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve." - Matthew 4:8-10

The question then arises Why Jesus never admonish anyone when they worshipped Him? Even God commanded the angels to worship Jesus:

"And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, Let all Gods angels worship him. - Hebrews 1:6

And Jesus allowed himself to be worshipped; whereas the apostles and followers did not allow this. Who worshipped Jesus?

Answer: The Angels (Hebrew 1:6), Disciples (Matthew 14:33, 28:9, 28:17; and Luke 24:52), Wise men (Matthew 2:2, and 2:11), Leper (Matthew 8:2), Ruler (Matthew 9:18), Woman of Canaan (Matthew 15:25), Mother of Zebedee's children (Matthew 20:20), and Blind man (John 9:38)

Whereas the disciples did not allow themselves to be worshipped in any manner, covered in greater detail at this site:

http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/worship.htm

Why would Jesus allow Himself to be worshiped if He was not God?
Answer: He wouldn't, they are one of the same.

Why a Father and a Son?
Answer: God has always had Sons:

"Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. - Proverbs 8:32

"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:26-28

However Jesus was his only begotten or one and only Son born of a virgin birth; born of God. "The word became flesh."

So why would God come as a Son? In order to understand this we will look at the Modelling Principle as understood in Psychology:

Modeling Principle: To teach a child new ways of behaving, allow him to observe a prestigeful person performing the desired behavior.

If God was to model as the Father, the example to the Sons of God would then be how they should walk as a Father. However, there can only be one Father in a family; likewise there can only be one head in a family who is God:

"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." - Ephesians 5:22-24

Therefore God walked as a Son, so that all the sons of God might learn to walk as He did.

So where does the Holy Ghost fit in? Well if we go to Genesis you will see that man is made in the image of God:

"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." - Genesis 1:27

We were made this way so that we might understand things about the spiritual realm, the things we cannot see:

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." - Romans 1:20-21

If we take a look at our image we will see that there are two major components, a head and a body. The head sends signals or messages to the body and the body responds. In other words the head controls the body. This is accomplished through the nervous system similar to an electric like conduction system, although it uses potassium and sodium ion to convey the message through a series of neurons. The Holy Ghost would be the like that conduction system in the spiritual realm of things, which conveys the signal (message) from the head (Christ) to the body (Church or believers). The message that travels the conduction system is not separate from the head in which it originates, although it goes out from the head.

They are all connected: Head, Spirit, and Son; three in one.

God is Spirit (although He manifested Himself in the flesh in Christ) and His worshipers must worship Him in Spirit. It is the Holy Ghost that connects the worshiper to God (another three way connection):

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." - John 4:23-24.