God in Three Persons Blessed Trinity

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God in Three PersonsBlessed Trinity

• The attributes of God

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Tertullian (c. 160 - c. 225)Against Praxeas

• Everywhere I hold one substance divine
  attributes in three cohering.All are of one, by
  unity of substance while the mystery of the
  dispensation is still guarded, which distributes
  the Unity into a Trinity, placing in their order
  the three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
  Spirit three howevernot in substance but in
  form, not in power but in appearance.

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GBC Definition of Trinity

• We believe in one God eternally existing in
  three equal persons Father, Son, and Holy
  Spirit, who have the same nature and attributes,
  but who are distinct in office and activity.

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Critical elements of definition
Mysterious Trinity
EQUALITY
PLURALITY
UNITY
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Unity

• OT Dt. 64 Is. 4310 4521-22 Mal. 210
• NT - Mk. 1228-29 Jn. 544 1 Cor. 84-6 1 Tim.
  117 James 219

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Plurality

• Plurality of Persons in the OT
• Plural pronouns and verbs Gen. 126 322
  117 Is. 68
• Distinction of persons Is. 4816
• Angel of the Lord Gen. 167-13
• Father is God Ps. 8926
• Son is God Is. 714 96 Ezek. 1 Dan. 79-14
• Spirit is God Ps. 1397-12

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Plurality

• Plurality of Persons in the OT
• Distinction of Persons in the NT Mt. 316-17
  Jn. 1416-18 167,10 1 Cor. 124-6 2 Cor.
  1314
• Diversity of authority John 842 1526
  1613-14 1 Cor. 1527-28
• Tri-unity, or three-in-oneness Jn. 1030 149

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Equality

• Father is God John 627 1 Pet. 12
• Son is God Jn. 11 518 858 938 1030
  149 2028 Mt. 123 Phil. 26-7 Col. 115-17
  29 Heb. 12-3, 6, 8, 10-12
• Spirit is God Acts 53-4 2 Cor. 317-18

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Analogies

• Of water and eggs
• The Church Jn. 17 1 Cor. 12
• Marriage Gen. 1-2 Gal. 328 1 Pet. 37

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Summary

• God eternally exists as Three real Persons,
  Father, Son, Holy Spirit
• Each Person is fully God (equality)
• Each person is distinct (plurality)
• And yet there is just one God (unity)

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History Heresies
Polytheism
Mysterious Trinity
EQUALITY
PLURALITY
Modalism
Subordination
UNITY
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Specific challenges to Trinity

• Firstborn of all Creation Col 115
• Dt.2115-17
• literal first son who was born to a man
• one who possessed the supremacy, with the legal
  rights of the firstborn
• John 13 Ps. 8927

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Specific challenges to Trinity

• Only begotten John 316
• Literal only offspring
• Figurative unique ? such as Isaac in Heb. 1117

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Specific challenges to Trinity

• a god John 11
• Cp. John 118
• Heb. 1 Col. 1

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Significance

• Sacrificial love
• True fellowship
• True worship

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