Trinity Doctrine

Name: Peter Klug

Date: July 10, 2006

Subject: Trinity

Message: Since God created man in His image then we should be able to learn something about God from looking at man. Not putting God in a theological box mind you. We have a spirit, a mind and a body. We exist as a community of three, so this points (only as a shadow) to some kind of community in God. And look at the feasts, God has given us Passover, Sukkot, Shabbat etc... He engages us spiritually, mentally and physically. There seems to be this three message in all of creation. Is it possible that Satan took this truth and twisted it for his purposes? Developing all sorts of un holy trinities? (Sheva, Vishnu Krishna). God does not fit into a box. But I must confess that, The Father, Yeshua and the Ruach Ha Kodesh is Yod- Hei- Vav-Hei.

Thanks,

Peter

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HTTP_REFERER: http://www.tzemach.org/articles/trinity.htm
This is the article he is referencing.

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Dear Peter,

Thank you for your correspondence.

I have included a excerpt below from Tennessee Temple University's web site just as a common example of Christian doctrinal positions. It is the college's statement of faith. The section below deals specifically with the Trinity. You will notice that I have highlighted the terms "co-equal, co-substantial." The difficulty is not that we see a biblical manifestation of God through three, which we often refer to as the "triune nature of God." The difficulty is that the Trinitarian definition places all three on the same level [i.e. co-equal, co-substantial] and biblically the Father is in authority over the Son, the Son is in authority over the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings individuals to the knowledge of Jesus and Jesus brings them to the knowledge of the Father. It also leaves no room for God to further express Himself in greater dimensions, which is at least eluded to in the statements concerning the seven Spirits of God [Revelation 3:1, 4:5, 5:6]. Also note that the below statement goes vastly beyond biblical revelation into the realm of philosophy, even though the bible sternly warns against it [Deuteronomy 12:32, Colossians 2:8, Revelation 22:18,19].

By the way, if you are Pentecostal/Charismatic the last paragraph is at least a real eye-opener.

Also, there are seven biblical feasts.

Blessings from the Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies,

Jim Wingerter
Director of Multimedia Communications

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c. The Trinity of God

(1) God the Father
We affirm that God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace (Psalm 145:8-19;1 Corinthians 8:6). He is the Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1-31; Ephesians 3:9). He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption (Psalm 103:9; Romans 11:36). As Creator, He is the Father of all (Ephesians 4:6), but He is the Spiritual Father only of believers (Romans 8:14; 2 Corinthians 6:18). He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events (1 Chronicles 29:11; Romans 11:36). He saves from sin all who come to Him by faith in Christ; and He becomes Father to believers (John 1:12; Romans 8:14; Hebrews 12:5-9; 2 Corinthians 6:18).

(2) God the Son
We affirm that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, possesses all the divine attributes, and is co-equal, co-substantial, and co-eternal with the Father (John 10:30; 14:9). God the Father created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them according to His own will, through His Son, Jesus Christ, by whom all things continue in existence and in operation (John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:2).

(3) God the Holy Spirit
We affirm that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, has all the characteristics of personality, including intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), emotions (Ephesians 4:30), and will (1 Corinthians 12:11), and possesses the essence and all the attributes of deity, including eternality (Hebrews 9:14), omnipresence (Psalm 139:7-10), omnipotence (Romans 15:13), and truthfulness (John 16:13). He is co-equal and co-substantial with the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6). The Holy Spirit executes the divine will. He was sovereignly active in creation (Genesis 1:2), in the incarnation (Matthew 1:18), in the inspiration of the Scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21), and He is sovereignly active in salvation (John 3:5-7). The Holy Spirit baptizes and indwells all who believe in Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), and sanctifies, instructs, and empowers them for service (Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13). Every believer possesses the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation. It is the duty of all believers to be filled with (controlled by) the Spirit (John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20). We affirm that the Holy Spirit bestows gifts to the church, but He does not glorify Himself, He glorifies Christ (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 3:18). Speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles in the beginning days of the church were for the purpose of authenticating the apostles and never intended to be the characteristic of the lives of believers (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 13:8-10;2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12).

We deny the legitimacy of the modern charismatic movement because of its erroneous teachings and practices relating to the manifestations and work of the Holy Spirit in the church and in the life of the believer.