The Triune God

[Alive in Christ]

Walkbyfaith...

You posted to Amy...

Ther resources you provided (lol) were not the resources requested. Scriptural evidence was requested numerous times, yet you posted nothing of the kind.

It has been given but you ignore it.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are being identified as and referred as a person every time they are referred to as He in contrast to an "it", or a "presence" or the "wind" or a "power" or any other non personal identifier.

They are referred to as "He", and how in the world you can keep saying you are not getting "scripture" evidence is beyond me.

THE SCRIPTURES REFER TO ALL 3 AS HE!!!

Why are you dancing around like this...evadeing the obvious???

 

[walkbyfaith]

Walkbyfaith...

You posted to Amy...



It has been given but you ignore it.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are being identified as and referred as a person every time they are referred to as He in contrast to an "it", or a "presence" or the "wind" or a "power" or any other non personal identifier.

They are referred to as "He", and how in the world you can keep saying you are not getting "scripture" evidence is beyond me.

THE SCRIPTURES REFER TO ALL 3 AS HE!!!

Why are you dancing around like this...evadeing the obvious???

I am evading nothing. I am simply trying to understand how someone takes the word 'He' and comes to the conclusion that God is a person. Many things are referred to as he or she that are not persons. Amy's responses all alluded to writings of man with verses to 'prove' their arguments. Not good enough.

THE SCRIPTURE ALSO SAYS GOD IS A SPIRIT!!! How you can dismiss this fact is beyond me.

Now, in all honesty, I really dont have a problem with referring to any/all of the Trinity beings as 'persons'. As long as it is understood that each are far and away more than a 'human person'. That is the point I was working toward with Amy, before it went south. But it does seem to me that the term 'persons' makes them seem human and less Godly. Personally, I prefer the term 'beings'.

 

[Alive in Christ]

Walk by Faith....

Maybe this will help you...

(there will be a link at the end for the whole thing)

Louis Berkhof's Systematic Theology correctly defines the doctrine of God's triune nature.

The doctrine is stated in a series of propositions:
1. There is in the Divine Being but one indivisible essence;
2. In this one Divine Being there are three Persons or individual subsistences,Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
3. The whole undivided essence of God belongs equally to each of the three persons;
4. The subsistence and operation of the three persons in the divine Being is marked by a certain definite order;
5. There are certain personal attributes by which the three persons are distinguished.1

A definition that is more suited to the lay person would be:
Within the nature of the one true God, there are three eternal Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Or, it could be said God is One with respect to His nature or substance and three in respect to Persons.
The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father; the Son is not the Spirit; and the Father is not the Spirit. God is not one person who manifests or reveals himself in three different modes, or three gods who are one in purpose. There is only one God in essence, who truly exists as three divine persons. The Christian is honestly handling the word of God by saying there is only one God. The Christian is indeed correct in saying that there are three persons who are God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The magisterial confession of faith states:

In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power and eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.2


The following Scriptures, demonstrate that there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead, in other words, you see more than one divine person in each passage listed:
Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7; Isaiah 6:8; 48:16; 61:1-2; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Zechariah 10:12; Matthew 28:19; Luke 4:18-19; John 1:1-3; John 14:23; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 2:2; Hebrews 1:8-10; Hebrews 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:2; and 1 John 2:24


Yet, the Bible makes it indisputable that there is only one God:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
…I am he: before me there was no God formed. Neither shall there be after me, I, even I, am LORD, And beside me there is no saviour. (Isaiah 43:10)
…I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6)
Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any? (Isaiah 44:8)

http://www.undergroundnotes.com/triune.htm

 

[walkbyfaith]

Thank you sir. I have no problem whatsoever using the term 'person' in that context.

I actually like the term "Eternal Persons".

 

[Aaron]

At least one person can give a Scriptural response! Thank you (even though you edited your post with a contradiction).

Not a contradiction, just something I knew you would stumble over. But I didn't edit it fast enough, so I'll put it back. No one was saying God was a person. We're saying He's three persons.

That was the whole point of this entire dialogue was to get a Scriptural response. I stated again and again I wasnt interested in what some internet blog said.

Actually, you were pretty sure the term "person" didn't apply to God at all, and you challenged us to prove you wrong.

But this tactic of insisting upon scriptural verbatims is often a mask for ignorance or obstinancy. Even if the term "person" weren't used in the Scriptures, like the term "trinity," it would still be an accurate and descriptive term, at least for those who know the Scriptures and understand English. If one cannot restate the theological dogmas revealed in fragments throughout the Scriptures in concise and descriptive terms, or recognize it when it's being done, why should we listen to him?

Now please define the term 'person'. The definition given before was that "a person has a will, and a self awareness' or something to that effect. Is this a flesh and blood person? Or something else?

No. Do it yourself.

 

[Martin Marprelate]

The reason that people talk of God as 'personal' is that God has 'personality.' He is not some sort of impersonal life force. The cults (specifically the JWs) speak of the Holy Spirit as 'God's active force' thereby denying His 'Personality.' That the Spirit is a Person is clearly shown throughout the Scriptures. He creates and gives life (Job 33:4 ); He strives with the ungodly (Genesis 6:3 ); He commands and forbids (Acts 8:29; 11:12; 13:2; 16:6-7 ); He appoints ministers in the Church (Acts 20:28 ); He ‘speaks expressly’ of things to come (1Timothy 4:1 ); He testifies along with personal witnesses (John 15:26-7 ); He approves with others (Acts 15:28 ); He may be grieved (Eph 4:30 ) and vexed (Isaiah 63:10 ).

When we say that God is Spirit, we mean that we should not think of Him as an old man in the sky, nor should we ever represent Him as a human being. That does not mean however that He does not have personality.

Steve