Simple Bible Answers - A web site to further understand the Word of God.
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Simple Bible Answers - A web site to further understand the Word of God.
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Q. Is God one being? Q. Is Jesus God? Q. Is the Holy Spirit God? Q. Is the Holy Spirit a Person? Q. Are all three God at the same time? Q. How can this be?
We being human think in very finite terms that define our lives. We think in terms of time which makes eternity hard to understand. We see the world solid which makes the Spirit incomprehensible. We see the effects of gravity, can measure it but we don’t know the how it works, or what it is. We hear of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit each being separate so the concept of a single God, that incorporates all three different personas, confuses our little minds. Do I understand it completely(?), no. I have a simple mind also, but I’ll try my best. Many have tried to explain this in different ways. Some say the egg with a shell, yolk, and white. All three do make up an egg but each doesn’t make the whole. The shell is all shell, the white all white, and the yolk, all yolk. But each isn’t all egg. Some like the pie as an example, divided into three. All three pieces are all pie but each is only a third of the whole. Same with water as vapor, fluid, and ice. Each is H2O but each can only exist independent of each other. The Father is all God, so the Son, as is the Spirit. Each isn’t one third God, but each is all God and whole. And all three exist at the same time and each is no less the whole. Kind of makes you want to take a nap, or gives you a headache? Me too. That’s the ramifications of our minds trying to understand an all powerful God. Let me tell you the best way I have found to think of it, and let you decide. Lets say you have a family, kids, parents, and home (if you don’t please put your pretend hats on). Would it be fair to say that the way you deal, or speak to your son, is different then the way you speak to your father. Would you speak to both the same as you would speak with say, the neighbors? You are a son, a father, and an authority rolled into one. If all three groups were in a room at the same time wouldn’t you deal with each differently at the same time? Now imagine being able to take those three personas you have and separate them. Instead of being in the same room, you are dealing with your father, son, and neighbors, in three different locations. Would you be any less you? The closest we can get, is if you had your father on the phone, your son on the internet, and you talking to the neighbor from your open windows. Three different personas dealing with different groups in different locations, yet your all the same person at the same time. We are human and can’t divide ourselves between the different personas we all have. But God isn’t restrained by time, space, or matter. God can be Father, Son, and Spirit at the same time, in different locations, each doing different things, yet never be less Himself. This is only true of God. All other spirit beings such as angels were created, and made to be singular, and have limits to what they can do and how they operate. They can’t be all powerful (omnipotent), everywhere (omnipresent), or all knowing (omniscience). Only God can, that’s true of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (For those who ask “What about Jesus when he said Only the Father knows the day and time… Click here). Is the "Trinity" in the Bible? Yes it is, but not the word. The word “trinity” is Latin and means three in one. The Hebrew language doesn’t have a word for trinity, but they had other ways to express this. In the New Testament the Trinity is displayed for all to see. First the Hebrew; El in Hebrew is the generic word for a, or thee, God. It can mean the Hebrew/Christian God or a false god. How they separated which was which, was by how they used it in context, and what term they added to El. Jews used terms to define God, El wasn’t, and isn’t the Lords name, God doesn’t have a “name”. (Click on “What’s in a name” for more on this) Right in the beginning of the Bible God tells us “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). And God (Elohim) said “Let Us make man in Our image” (Gen. 1:26) . And later a biggie is “The Lord your God is one”. What we have here is a number of different statements that show us that God is a multi-persona God. A God that is one being, but multi-faceted. First God created, only God can create. The angles can’t, nor can man. Man likes to think he can create, but what God means here is to create out of nothing. Man just rearranges elements that he finds already in Gods created universe. Who created the elements, the basic building blocks, only God. Next verse has Him say “let us make man…”, who is “Us”. Can angels “make or create”, no they can’t. Once again only God can create or make, then “Us” must be what, more then one God? Yes it is. God in Hebrew refers many times to Himself in the plural, and not by way of third person. O.k. you say maybe it’s just two, like with the Father and Son. Lets take a look at the next verse in our list. Next we have the verse “the Lord your God is One”. One is pretty well understood as one, not much wriggle room here. What gets even more interesting is when you look at that verse in the Hebrew. The Lord your ELOHIM is One”. In context God is speaking to the Jews, so we know that He is speaking of the Jewish/Christian God. He says “Your”. Next we have in the Hebrew Elohim. Ohim in Hebrew means a plural, more then one. It’s kind of like adding a “s” to a word in English. So in Hebrew we have the word “Gods” here. To take this one step further the Hebrews had a way of expressing the plural of two. This isn’t it. The ohim is a plural that is used to mean three or more. So what we end up with is “The Lord your Gods (three or more) is One”. Things like this don’t translate well into English but it would be hard to teach everyone Greek and Hebrew. If everyone could speak these languages almost all of the Bibles disputed areas would be cleared up for the average person without any outside help. The Jews are Gods chosen people and one of the reasons has to do with how well they faithfully kept Gods words. They didn’t always, and still don’t, understand the Word fully, but they copied it faithfully. They don’t understand that verse, and will dispute the plain meaning, but they still keep it the way it was written. I wish we Christians would apply the same diligence. There are many other verses I can list but unless I get a lot of negative feedback wishing for more, for the sake of space, these verses should do. The New Testament displays, in the Gospels, the three together. One of the best is at the Baptism of Jesus. Here we have the Son with the Fathers voice, and the Spirit descending as a dove. All three at the same time, separate but one. Jesus time after time speaks of, and to, His Father. Establishing the Two of them being separate but both with the same attributes that only God can have. It was Jesus that said if you have seen the Son, you have seen the Father. Also he speaks of sending another to replace him after he leaves. This other he refers to as the Comforter. This Comforter is being sent to the group, all who were, and were to become Christians. This would make the Comforter Omnipresence, a attribute that only God can have. This Comforter we find later indwells the believer at Salvation to do a number of favors for us. This Comforter is the Holy Spirit, and I say does favors for us because, we can’t force God to do anything, we only can ask. How do we know that the Spirit is God, and not some power or force? Lets take a look at what the Spirit can, and does do. Once again He indwells all believers. Only God can be everywhere all the time. He is a restrainer, the only reason man doesn’t completely kill himself off, is because of the effects, of the Holy Spirit. When the Christians are taken up (rapture) He, since he indwells the Christians, goes too. You think it’s bad now just wait to see what man does with no restraints. The Holy Spirit starts sanctification. This is a process of making us more like Christ. Just a note there is two forms of sanctification. This one here is called practical sanctification, the changing in us, on earth, to be more inline with Jesus. The other is positional sanctification which is how God sees us. At the moment we are saved in Gods eyes we are sanctified, by the gift of Salvation, even though in our human flesh, we may be light years away. The Holy Spirit wrote the Bible. It was the Holy Spirit working through men, that wrote the Word. Who better to pen the Bible then God himself. This would mean knowledge, not just past, but knowledge of the future, which only God can have. You may ask, “can’t all this be done by a power or force?” Not really but let’s see what qualities the Spirit has that let us know He isn’t just a power. We are told when we pray at our lowest points, when we are in the middle of the deepest of sorrow, our soul sometimes makes a groaning too deep for words. Most people have been there. So depressed, or hurt, scared, confused, lonely, or lost, that no words can describe it. You need something but you don't know what, so from deep inside you get this feeling of emptiness. The Spirit can takes this groaning, this hollow in the pit of your stomach and interpret it to God. The Spirit tells God just what you need and also puts those feelings and thoughts into words. This of course is only if your saved, for the truly lost souls God doesn't have to hear them, why? Without the gift of salvation they won't have the Holy Spirit (which is God) in them, they have no "one to one" relationship with the Father. Again for the Spirit to take what we can't put words to, and interpret it. This requires Intelligences, Intelligences and knowledge like this is a type that implies a “mind”. A mind that has understanding and logic. We can impart our knowledge on a chip of silicone, or a magnetic disk, but this can only react to outside, or interactive stimulation. The Spirits knowledge isn’t reactive but is proactive, not redirecting thought, but directing thought, many times before that thought happens, or can be understood by ourselves. The Spirit is all knowing, which is a trait that only God can have, and also foretelling, an trait also of God. This Spirit knows our heart (mind) also, something only God can do. Angels, men, and the devil can not read minds. Some maybe able to speak to the mind, but none can read it, only God. The Spirit is in a believer, can understand the believer better then the believer himself, and speak for the believer when the believer doesn’t even know himself, what it is they need. Are you bad with words? God isn’t and takes care of it for you, if you just try to pray. The Spirit can be grieved! Take a battery and slap it around a little, yell at it, call it names. The battery just isn’t going to be upset. The only thing that’s going to happen is you’ll look like a nut. A "power" or "force" doesn’t grieve. Grieving, joy, anger, all are emotions that a power, or force can’t have. Emotions are in the realm of a living being. A being, living in all believers at the same time, which brings us back to God. And yes God has strong emotions but unlike us, He isn’t controlled by His emotions. God is always in control of Himself, the universe, the planet, even down to the smallest single cell life, God doesn’t lose track. The Spirit can give us understanding of Gods Word. He will sometimes explain the Word if we, after trying all we can to understand it, can't. In fact getting a true understanding of the Bible isn’t possible without the Spirit. That’s why nonbelievers can see and hear the same verses as the believer, and just not understand. If your getting new knowledge, or different understandings that seem way out of line, be careful. The Spirit doesn’t change the Word, or give you a new Gospel, He just opens it up. He also gives you just what you can understand and deal with, depending on your maturity in your faith. You also don’t get more of the Holy Spirit. You have as much of the Spirit as the greatest of Christian people that have ever lived. God isn’t pushy, you have to give the Spirit room. The more you turn your life over to God in the form of the Spirit, the more the Spirit will take control. Many of us invite God in by taking the gift of Salvation and like a hitchhiker, we have Him sit in the back seat. If the road gets rough we invite him up front, and in real bad sections we may even switch sides and let God drive. But whenever the road gets smooth, back to the backseat God goes. It’s a rare person that puts God in the driver seat and climbs into the back. If you do, hold on, your going for the ride of your life! In Paul's letters, and all throughout the New and Old Testament, we see the Holy Spirit, and the works He does. Just a word of caution, be careful of churches that over emphasizes the Spirit. Stay clear of speaking in tongues, holy laughter, healings, or any church that over emphasizes gifts. Gifts are real but some are no longer in use, and others are cons (check “How do I know I’m saved?” For more on gifts). So now we know the Holy Spirit is God. The Son is God, and the Father is God. We also have seen that the Lord, our God(s), are one. We have the "Three as One", and that adds up to a Trinity.
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Last modified: 12/15/07For a FREE downloadable KJV Bible click here. Opinions or questions: Mail@SimpleBibleAnswers.com
Re:22:18: For I testify unto every man
that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto
these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
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