I don't know if anyone else is beginning to ask the question, if the concept of TRINITY is scriptural. It seem to be a common question these days. I even had some Js 2 students asked me same question. I tried to escape, but as I was in my study yesterday evening, an Ss3 student came asking the same question. So I dropped what I was doing, and we started discussing. After we perused through some scriptures, we settled at John 14. The discoveries we had were amazing. He kept laughing, and I kept shouting. It was scrappy, but we saw truth. I'm certain that by God's Spirit, more insight will be thrown on this subject.
But as we know, the only verse in the Bible that seemed to support the concept of Trinity is found in 1John 5:7, and it reads thus:
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
As convincing as this verse is, it is said that it wasn't in the original writing of John. It was however added from Latin Vulgate, and u know where that came from. There obviously is a connect with verse 6 and 8 of 1 John, but verse 7 was obviously a run off to heaven. 😂
Now see this scripture
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mark 12:29 KJV
Where did he get that scripture from. It's right here:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord : And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the Lord , which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
Deuteronomy 6:4â€-‬13 KJV
QUESTION:
WHAT LAND?
You should know by now that the Old Testament was full of types and shadows.
Hebrews 10-13 King James Version (KJV)
10 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things...
The Jews kept looking at the shadows and not the very image. For example, the Law gave them the Sabbath, but they could not see fellowship. Jesus rebuked them for their lack of perception.
Wow...
But think of the man Abraham, he saw with the eyes of faith. Read carefully :
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Hebrews 11:8â€-‬10 KJV
He knew that the promised land was not this earth.
See more...
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
Hebrews 11:13â€-‬15 KJV
So they knew eventually,...
But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Hebrews 11:16 KJV
So the land speaks of heaven, symbolically represented by the earthly Jerusalem.
WHAT NAME?
It was prophesied by the angel.
Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Jesus included the name in his teaching on prayers. But he never said the name. But he called it the name of the father.
Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
We saw several names given to God in the Old Testament, (and funnily some believers cram those names, thinking that it makes their prayers more potent.), but you can never see any other name than the name of Jesus in the new testament.
Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
It is the name of Jesus, and not the name of the father, the son and the Holy Ghost.
We give praise to the Father IN the name of Jesus.
Hebrews 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent Name than they.
1 John 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
Revelation showed us something that Moses could not obtain even though he got the name YHWH from JEHOVAH himself. Moses couldn't see God's face.
Follow this...
His face symbolises his Identity.
His name symbolises his victory over sin and death. It speaks of his accomplishments, his reputation, his attainment, His glory.
They knew Christ by his resurrection (see Acts 10:37-43)
God's identity from the time man fell till Jesus came had been hidden.
No man knew who he is.
This was what Jesus meant in this verse:
John 1:18 King James Version (KJV)
18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
He declared him to us. He revealed the father's identity through the outpour of the spirit.
Moses saw the back of God. What does that even mean?
Does God even have a physical body part that can be seen?
What Moses saw was a revelation of who God is. But he saw with the eyes of the law.
In fact, see how Paul described Mose's experience :
But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
2 Corinthians 3:7â€, ‬9 KJV
He called it the ministration of death and condemnation. Awful!
Come with me and let's do a small study on this.
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
Revelation 5:1 KJV
The right hand speaks of the place of authority, and we know who sits there.
The seal was on man's self efforts and righteousness. The Law was given to reveal the unworthiness of man in his approach to God.
The things of God were sealed from man. The writer somehow knew there were writings in it, but the problem was that there was no understanding. If it was about just opening it, he wouldn't have talked about the writing. So he knew they were important, but he couldn't tell what they were. Paul spoke of this as the mysteries that had been hidden from the foundation of the world.
Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Colossians 1:26 KJV
What is the mystery? Christ!
It's right there in the next verse.
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:*
Colossians 1:27 KJV
Obviously, the glory Adam fell short of. The gates to that glory was sealed in the garden. Remember the very day Adam ate of that fruit he hid his face from God. But actually, he hid from God's face. It was this fellowship Christ came to restore.
The veil is taken away in Christ Jesus. No one knew the Father, no one had understanding of his identity, and as a result, there was no fellowship.
But thank God we are ministers of the new testament.
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
2 Corinthians 3:6 KJV
The Spirit is the same as Christ. He called him the Spirit of truth. He is the father form of dwelling in his sons.
Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.
2 Corinthians 3:16 KJV
In the face of Jesus, the blindness is taken away. We see God for who he truly is. He is our loving Father. And always remember, that the words father, son is always an expression used to communicate oneness and not to distinguish between two persons. God is one. He has revealed himself to us through Christ, we now identify him as Jesus. Not just about the name, but his accomplishment.
Jesus told us that God is a spirit. So don't get confused with the person of the Holy Spirit. He is also called the Spirit of truth. Jesus had earlier said in that same chapter of John 14 that he is the truth.
If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
John 14:7â€, ‬9â€-‬10 KJV
I sincerely think Jesus clearly told his disciples in this chapter that he is the father. 😀
The Spirit isn't separate from the Father, he is the father present in Christ bodily. The Father's name is Jesus (that is the identity of the father all these years. And now it is settled in our hearts by believing in what he did). He is present in us today by His Spirit. Great is the mystery of godliness.
I hope this helps us... We will stretch on this some more. This was only an introduction.
©Chris Valentine
Keep living the higher life.