Father son and holy spirit. The Koran and the Christian doctrine of the trinity

The Holy Trinity is a theological term reflecting the Christian doctrine of Trinitarianism. This is one of the most important concepts of Orthodoxy.

The dogma of the Holy Trinity is the foundation of the Christian religion.

God is one in essence, but trinity in persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity is consubstantial and indivisible.

The word “Trinity” itself, of non-biblical origin, was introduced into the Christian lexicon in the second half of the 2nd century by Theophilus of Antioch. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is given in Christian Revelation.

The dogma of the Holy Trinity is incomprehensible, it is a mysterious dogma, incomprehensible at the level of reason. For the human mind, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is contradictory, because it is a mystery that cannot be expressed rationally.

It is no coincidence that Fr. Pavel Florensky called the dogma of the Holy Trinity “a cross for human thought.” In order to accept the dogma of the Most Holy Trinity, the sinful human mind must reject its claims to the ability to know everything and rationally explain, that is, in order to understand the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, it is necessary to reject its understanding.

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is comprehended, and only partially, in the experience of spiritual life. This comprehension is always associated with ascetic feat. V.N. Lossky says: “The apophatic ascent is an ascent to Golgotha, therefore no speculative philosophy could ever rise to the mystery of the Holy Trinity.”

The Trinity distinguishes Christianity from all other monotheistic religions: Judaism, Islam. The doctrine of the Trinity is the basis of all Christian faith and moral teaching, for example, the doctrine of God the Savior, God the Sanctifier, etc. V.N. Lossky said that the doctrine of the Trinity is “not only the basis, but also the highest goal of theology, for ... to know the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity in its fullness means to enter into Divine life, into the very life of the Most Holy Trinity.”

The doctrine of the Triune God comes down to three points:
1) God is trinity and trinity consists in the fact that in God there are Three Persons (hypostases): Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

2) Each Person of the Holy Trinity is God, but They are not three Gods, but are one Divine being.

3) All three Persons differ in personal or hypostatic properties.

The Holy Fathers, in order to somehow bring the doctrine of the Holy Trinity closer to the perception of man, used various kinds of analogies borrowed from the created world.
For example, the sun and the light and heat emanating from it. A source of water, a spring coming from it, and, in fact, a stream or river. Some see an analogy in the structure of the human mind (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. Ascetic experiences): “Our mind, word and spirit, by the simultaneity of their beginning and by their mutual relationships, serve as the image of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
However, all these analogies are very imperfect. If we take the first analogy - the sun, outgoing rays and heat - then this analogy presupposes some temporary process. If we take the second analogy - a source of water, a spring and a stream, then they differ only in our imagination, but in reality they are a single water element. As for the analogy associated with the abilities of the human mind, it can only be an analogy of the image of the Revelation of the Most Holy Trinity in the world, but not of intra-Trinity existence. Moreover, all these analogies place unity above trinity.
Saint Basil the Great considered the rainbow to be the most perfect analogy borrowed from the created world, because “the same light is both continuous in itself and multi-colored.” “And in the multicoloredness a single face is revealed - there is no middle and no transition between colors. It is not visible where the rays demarcate. We clearly see the difference, but we cannot measure the distances. And together, the multicolored rays form a single white one. The one essence reveals itself in a multi-colored radiance.”

A Brief History of the Dogma of the Holy Trinity

Christians have always believed that God is one in essence, but trinity in persons, but the dogmatic teaching about the Holy Trinity itself was created gradually, usually in connection with the emergence of various kinds of heretical errors. The doctrine of the Trinity in Christianity has always been connected with the doctrine of Christ, with the doctrine of the Incarnation. Trinitarian heresies and trinitarian disputes had a Christological basis.

In fact, the doctrine of the Trinity became possible thanks to the Incarnation. As the troparion of Epiphany says, in Christ “Trinitarian worship appears.” The teaching about Christ is “a stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Greeks” (1 Cor. 1:23). Also, the doctrine of the Trinity is a stumbling block for both “strict” Jewish monotheism and Hellenic polytheism. Therefore, all attempts to rationally comprehend the mystery of the Holy Trinity led to errors of either a Jewish or Hellenic nature.

The first dissolved the Persons of the Trinity in a single nature, for example, the Sabellians, while others reduced the Trinity to three unequal beings (Arians). The condemnation of Arianism occurred in 325 at the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. The main act of this Council was the compilation of the Nicene Creed, into which non-biblical terms were introduced, among which the term “omousios” - “consubstantial” - played a special role in the Trinitarian disputes of the 4th century.

To reveal the true meaning of the term "omousios" it took enormous efforts of the great Cappadocians: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and Gregory of Nyssa.
The great Cappadocians, primarily Basil the Great, strictly distinguished the concepts of “essence” and “hypostasis.” The non-beginning of being and Divine dignity belong equally to all three hypostases. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are its manifestations in Persons, each of which possesses the fullness of the divine essence and is in inextricable unity with it. The Hypostases differ from each other only in their personal (hypostatic) properties.
In addition, the Cappadocians actually identified (primarily the two Gregory: Nazianzen and Nyssa) the concept of “hypostasis” and “person”. “Face” in the theology and philosophy of that time was a term that belonged not to the ontological, but to the descriptive plane, that is, a face could be called the mask of an actor or the legal role that a person performed.
By identifying “person” and “hypostasis” in trinitarian theology, the Cappadocians thereby transferred this term from the descriptive plane to the ontological plane. The consequence of this identification was, in essence, the emergence of a new concept that the ancient world did not know: this term is “personality”. The Cappadocians managed to reconcile the abstractness of Greek philosophical thought with the biblical idea of ​​a personal Deity.

Distinction of Divine Persons by Hypostatic Properties

According to the teaching, Hypostases are Personalities, and not impersonal forces. Moreover, the Hypostases have a single nature. Naturally the question arises, how to distinguish them?
All divine properties belong to general nature, they are characteristic of all three Hypostases and therefore cannot express the differences of the Divine Persons by themselves. It is impossible to give an absolute definition of each Hypostasis using one of the Divine names.
One of the features of personal existence is that personality is unique and inimitable, and therefore, it cannot be defined, it cannot be subsumed under a certain concept, since the concept always generalizes; impossible to bring to a common denominator. Therefore, a person can only be perceived through his relationship to other individuals.
This is exactly what we see in, where the idea of ​​​​Divine Persons is based on the relationships that exist between them.
Starting approximately from the end of the 4th century, we can talk about generally accepted terminology, according to which hypostatic properties are expressed in the following terms: in the Father - ungeneracy, in the Son - birth (from the Father), and procession (from the Father) in the Holy Spirit. Personal properties are incommunicable properties, eternally remaining unchanged, exclusively belonging to one or another of the Divine Persons. Thanks to these properties, Persons differ from each other, and we recognize them as special Hypostases.
At the same time, distinguishing three Hypostases in God, we confess the Trinity to be consubstantial and indivisible. Consubstantial means that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three independent Divine Persons, possessing all divine perfections, but these are not three special separate beings, not three Gods, but One God. They have a single and indivisible Divine nature. Each of the Persons of the Trinity possesses the divine nature perfectly and completely.

Trinity Day is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter, which is why it is also called Pentecost. The Feast of Pentecost, or the Day of the Holy Trinity, went like this. On the tenth day after the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, on the day of the Jewish holiday of the first harvest, when the disciples and the Virgin Mary were with them in the Zion Upper Room, at the third hour of the day a strong noise was heard in the air, as if during a storm. Bright, flickering tongues of fire appeared in the air. It was not a material fire - it was of the same nature as the Holy Fire, which descends annually in Jerusalem on Easter; it shone without burning. Rushing over the heads of the apostles, tongues of fire descended on them and laid them to rest. Immediately, along with the external phenomenon, the internal one also happened, which took place in: “all were filled with the Holy Spirit.” “Both the Mother of God and the apostles felt at that moment an extraordinary power acting in them. Simply and directly, they were given from above a new grace-filled gift of the verb - they spoke in languages ​​that they did not know before. This was the gift needed to preach the Gospel throughout the world.

In memory of this event, the Feast of Pentecost is also called the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, as well as the day of the Holy Trinity: in the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, who came from God the Father according to the promise of God the Son, the mystery of the unity of the Holy Trinity was revealed. This day received the name Pentecost not only in memory of the ancient holiday, but also because this event occurred on the fiftieth day after Christian Easter. Just as the Passover of Christ replaced the ancient Jewish holiday, so Pentecost laid the foundation of the Church of Christ as a union in the Spirit on earth.

About the Holy Trinity on “Pravmir”:

SO IS GOD ONE OR TRIUNE?

Today, on the issue of the Trinity of God, Christians are divided into two camps - those who believe in the Trinity, and those who do not believe in the Triune God.

But does this somehow affect our salvation? Does my salvation depend on whether I believe in the Triune God or the One? I think not. My salvation depends on whether I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and whether I follow Him, taking up my cross, or follow Him without taking up the cross. This is the most important question, which needs our attention. But, nevertheless, let's see what Scripture says about this. Let's look at those places from Scripture that show that God is Triune, as well as those that say that God is one and try to come to some conclusion.

In the Bible we do not find such a word as “Triune” or “Trinity”, but this concept did not arise out of nowhere. The essence of the Trinity of God did not arise in someone’s mind simply because someone wanted to invent three Gods for themselves, since one was not enough for him. Understanding the Trinity of God arises from a careful study of numerous biblical texts, which we will consider.

Let's first look at the very first book of the Bible - Genesis: "AND said God: let's create person in Our image in Our likeness…» (Gen. 1:26). We see that it is written: “And God said,” and not “the Gods said.” We also see that God did not say that He will create(singular) man in the image To his. No. He said “let us make” (plural) in “our image, after our likeness.” From this text we clearly see that God is one God and not several, and we clearly see that He speaks of Himself in the plural. In the original, in Hebrew, the verb “let’s create” is in the plural, therefore the word is translated into Russian in exactly the same way.

The next verse says: "AND said Lord God: behold, Adam has become like one of Us knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and also take from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.”(Gen. 3:22). We see again that the words “the Lord God said” are written in the singular, and then He speaks of Himself in the plural: “as one of Us.” I wonder why God did NOT say: “behold, Adam has become like Me,” but said: “like one of Us”? These words of God also suggest the idea that He is, on the one hand, one God, and on the other, that He Himself is having a conversation with Someone else.

Another verse from Genesis: "AND said Lord: behold, there is one people, and they all have one language; and this is what they began to do, and they will not deviate from what they planned to do; let's get off as well as let's mix there is their language, so that one does not understand the speech of another.”(Gen.11:7). In this verse we see the same thing as in the previous ones. The words “And the Lord said” are written in the singular, and “let us go down and mix” in the plural. In Genesis alone we see three instances where God refers to Himself in the plural.

Now let's look at the words of Isaiah: “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying: Whom To me send? and who will go for Us? And I said: here I am, send me"(Isaiah 6:8). First we see God saying, “Whom shall I send?” and immediately says: “And who will go for Us?” The essence is the same as in the previous verses we examined.

Why do you think God made sure these verses were written in the Bible? Did He want to tell us something by this? So far we have seen only one fact, which is that God is one God, Who in Himself has a conversation with Someone and speaks about Himself in the plural. Now let's see, with whom did He conduct a dialogue in Himself?

God, through the prophet Isaiah, reveals what will happen in the future - the birth of Jesus Christ: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”(Isa.9:6). This verse clearly shows that the Son (Jesus Christ) has dominion and is the mighty God and the everlasting Father. These are the attributes of God. From this verse we see a second Person whom Scripture calls God. Here is another text that speaks about Jesus Christ: “And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are you small among the thousands of Judah? from you will come to me one who is to be ruler in Israel and Whose origin is from the beginning, from the days of eternity» (Mic. 5:2). From this text it is clear that “He who should be Ruler in Israel” is the Lord Jesus Christ, “whose origin was from the beginning, from the days of eternity,” i.e. He is the eternal God. These verses say that Christ is the eternal God, therefore, based on the texts we have considered, we can conclude that God, saying: "in the image Our in the likeness Our..., Adam became like one of Us…, let's get off as well as let's mix there is their tongue... and who will go for Us?» speaks about Himself and Himself in Himself, according to at least, with one more Person - the Son (Jesus Christ). I think that there is no need to cite all the texts that clearly show the Divine Essence of Jesus Christ, since this article is not intended for Jehovah's Witnesses, but for Christians. Jehovah's Witnesses belong to that category of people to whom even if you bring all the indisputable evidence of the Divinity of Christ, they still will not believe it and will say that this is an incorrect translation of the Bible :)

During the baptism of Jesus Christ, we clearly see how God reveals Himself: "And having been baptized, Jesus He immediately came out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and descended upon Him. And behold, voice from heaven speaking: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."(Matt. 3:16,17). In this verse we see clearly

1). Jesus Christ came out of the water,

2). the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove, and

So we see Three Persons Who are One God.

We repeatedly read in the Gospels various texts where Jesus Christ communicated with His Heavenly Father; when he taught his disciples to pray to the Heavenly Father; taught to ask in His name from the Heavenly Father and where He spoke about the Holy Spirit. I think there is no need to list all these numerous texts, since every Christian knows them very well. I just want to cite three of these many texts: “And if you ask anything from Father in the name of My, then I will do it, so that he may be glorified Father in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."(John 14:13,14). Jesus Christ did NOT teach disciples to ask “Jesus in the name of Jesus,” but taught to ask the Father in His name. And further He says that the Father will be glorified in the Son. Here He speaks of two Divine Persons - the Father and Himself. The following text speaks of three Persons: “If you love Me, keep My commandments. AND I will ask the Father and he will give you another Comforter May the Spirit of truth be with you forever, whom the world cannot receive..."(John 14:15-17). In this text we see that Jesus Christ (God) promises His disciples that He will ask His Father (God) to give them another Comforter (the Holy Spirit - God). It seems to me that it would take a lot of effort not to see these numerous Bible verses that show God in Three Persons. And here is another text: "When will he come Comforter whom I will send to you from the Father“The Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”(John 15:26). Here we also see that Jesus Christ will send the Holy Spirit to the disciples from the Heavenly Father.

Just before His ascension, Jesus Christ gave the command to His disciples: “Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name Father and Son and Holy Spirit» (Matthew 28:19). Some Christians begin to cite two other texts from Scripture, which say that the Apostles commanded people to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, trying to refute the Trinity of God. Here is one of them: “Peter said to them: Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit"(Acts 2:38). But does this text refute the words of Jesus Christ Himself, when He showed that there are Three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Maybe Jesus Christ was mistaken about this? Or maybe Peter believed that if a person is baptized into Jesus Christ, then there is no Father and Holy Spirit? Or maybe this text is saying that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one Person? If the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one Person (and not three), then with whom did Jesus Christ constantly communicate when he retired to pray? With myself? Read the prayer of Jesus Christ, which is recorded in the Gospel of John in chapter 17, which is entirely dedicated to the prayer of Jesus Christ to His Heavenly Father. Therefore, no matter how you are baptized - into the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or simply into Jesus Christ, this does not change the numerous facts that Jesus (God in the Body) communicated with the Heavenly Father (God sitting on the throne) through the Holy Spirit (Omnipresent God). Here is another text where the Apostle commands to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ: “Who can forbid those who, like us, have received the Holy Spirit from being baptized with water? And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay with them for several days."(Acts 10:47,48). Some believers use this text to argue that God is only one Person (rather than one God in three Persons), but this text itself already speaks of a third Divine Person, the Holy Spirit. Therefore, these verses cannot in any way refute the Triune Essence of God.

Now let's see what the Apostles say when they mention the three Divine Persons: “But hope does not put you to shame, because God's love poured into our hearts Holy Spirit given to us. For Christ, while we were still weak, at a certain time he died for the wicked."(Rom.5:5,6). The Apostle Paul also shows us that God's love is given to Christians by the Holy Spirit because Jesus Christ died for sinners. All three Divine Persons of one God are listed here.

Here are more words from the Apostle Paul: "If The Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who lives in you. This one Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ if only we suffer with Him, so that we may be glorified with Him.”(Rom.8:11,16,17). Paul says that the Holy Spirit, i.e. The Spirit of the Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Paul also says that 1) the Holy Spirit bears witness to us. 2). We are heirs of God. 3). Joint heirs with Christ. We clearly see that the Father, Son and Spirit are the three Persons who are God.

The problem why people find it difficult to accept this fact that God is one God in Three Persons, which we see clearly throughout the Bible, is because they try to understand God with their limited minds. According to many people, this cannot happen, because, as it seems to them, it is impossible. But according to human reasoning, it is also impossible for God to inhabit a human body, and even more so for God to become a Human being, it is also impossible, but, nevertheless, this is a fact. We must understand that if something is not clear to us, this does not mean that it is wrong. We should not judge the Perfect, Almighty, All-Knowing, Holy and Omnipresent God with our limited minds, with which we are even unable to understand what it means: God has always existed, or what it means: there is no end to the universe. If you start thinking about this, you will realize the fact that your mind is very, very limited. What then can we say about the One who created the universe and everything that fills it, about the One who was never born and always was and always will be? I recommend that you read the article: “This is God’s predestination, or free will,” which shows our limited mind.

Look how the Apostle Paul ends his letter to the Corinthians: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and love God the Father, and communication Holy Spirit with all of you"(2 Cor. 13:13). How much more clearly can we say that we see the three Divine Persons of one God? We see that there is the grace of Jesus Christ, there is the love of God the Father and there is the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Pavel writes: "But when the fullness of time came, God sent His (Only Begotten) Son, who was born of a woman, was made subject to the law, in order to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons. And since you are sons, God sent into your hearts Spirit His Son, crying: “Abba, Father!”(Gal.4:4-6). Who sent His Son? God. The Son did not come from Himself. Who sent the Spirit of His Son? God. It is difficult for people to understand: “How can this be? God sent the Son, and God sent the Spirit of the Son?” The fact of the matter is that with your human, limited mind, it is difficult to understand how God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are one God and at the same time three Persons. And it is difficult for people to understand why the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of the Son, why the Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of the Father. Many people believe that there must be either one God, or there must be three Gods, but there cannot be one God in three Persons. Therefore, opponents of this truth draw some kind of creature with three faces, and say: “This is the God of Christians who believe in the Trinity! Can there be such a God? To those I want to say: “Do you decide what kind of God to be? Are you capable of comprehending the incomprehensible God with your limited human mind? Is it for you to determine whether God can be one and at the same time in three Persons, or not? Wouldn't it be better for you to abandon your human attempts to understand God, whose thoughts are as far from our understanding as the earth is far from heaven? Wouldn’t it be better for you to simply accept by faith the fact that Scripture speaks so clearly and repeatedly?”

There are quite a lot of similar texts, so I won’t list them all. Here are a couple more texts: "By foreknowledge of God the Father, at sanctification of the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."(1 Peter 1:2). “And you, beloved, building yourselves up most holy faith yours, praying with the Holy Spirit, save yourself in the love of God waiting for mercy from our Lord Jesus Christ, for eternal life"(Jude 20:21). I think these texts are enough to see that there are three Divine Persons who are one God.

Those who reject the truth of the Trinity of God base their conclusions on certain verses that say that there is one God. Here are a few such texts: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord there is one» (Deut.6:4). “Announce and say, having consulted with each other: who announced this from ancient times, said this in advance? Is it not I, Lord? And there is no other God besides Me“There is no righteous and saving God besides Me.”(Isa.45:21). « One God and the Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.”(Eph.4:6). "Do you believe that God is One: doing well; and the demons believe and tremble"(James 2:19). Some believers believe these verses provide evidence that God cannot possibly be in three Persons. But I don't see any evidence here. Words: “There is one Lord... there is no other God besides Me... One God and Father of all... You believe that there is one God...” do not prove at all that God does not have three Persons in Himself. We are not talking about three separate Gods, we are talking about one God, one God who reveals himself to us in three persons. This fact is called: Trinity, that is, three in one. God is one (only), and there is no one like Him, and no one argues with this. No one argues that He is the only one who has no one like him in the entire universe. No one disputes that He alone is God. It is truth. But Scripture shows us this one God in three Persons. That is why God says about Himself: "AND said God:(singular) let's create person in Our image, in Our likeness... (in plural). AND said God:(units) behold, Adam became like one of Us (plural). AND said Lord: (units) Behold, there is one people, and they all have one language; and this is what they began to do, and they will not deviate from what they planned to do; let's get off as well as let's mix (plural) there is their tongue."

Once again I want to say that the problem is not with God, but with the too limited human mind, which cannot accommodate this truth about the Triune God. But, nevertheless, this does not cease to remain the truth. It was for this reason that at the dawn of Christianity the Arian movement appeared, the founder of which was a certain Arius. He could not understand the logic of the trinity of God, as a result of which he began to completely deny it. There are also many people like Arius in our time, although many of them are sincere people who love God. I do not believe that if a person does not believe in the Trinity of God, then this can somehow affect his salvation. After all, those who believe in the Trinity of God still do not fully understand what it is, since we have nothing to compare it with. We simply do not have such components to understand the truth about the Triune God, in the same way to understand the truth that God is Self-Existent, that God is outside of time, that God is not limited by space, etc. I recommend that you read all the articles on our website about God and His Essence in order to understand at least a little how great the difference is between God and His creation - man.

Those people who reject the Trinity of God base their conclusions on verses like these: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.”(Deut.6:4) . They believe that the word "one" means "one Person." But in fact, the word “one” means: “one and only.” Throughout the Bible, God spoke and told people that He is the only one who cannot be compared with His creation, Who has no equal in the entire universe. Based on the previous verses, we have seen that God is one, not three, but He reveals Himself to us in three Divine Persons.

The word “one” also comes from the word “unity”, and implies the unity of several Persons. When Jesus Christ said about a husband and wife that they are one flesh, does this mean that they have become one person? Of course not. They are two individuals, but they are so one (or at least they should be) that they become one flesh. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are in absolute unity, between Them there is absolute love and absolute dedication to each other, which makes Them one. And although the Scripture itself does not contain the term “Trinity,” this word reflects the very essence of God, and shows that one God has three Persons in Himself.

And let us not forget what the Lord said: “The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, and the revealed things belong to us.”(Deut.29:29). There are many things that are hidden by the Lord from our understanding, therefore, if we do not understand something, this does not mean that it cannot be. We are able to understand only that little that the Lord allows us to understand, but that is already enough to see His Greatness, Dominion, Omnipotence and bow before Him in deep humility, realizing how Great He is and inexplicable by our limited mind.

And I would like to end this article with a wonderful statement from Dr. Aiden Tozer: “Some people who reject everything that they cannot explain deny that God is Triune. Looking intently at the Almighty with their cold and calm gaze, they think that it cannot be that He can be both one and three at the same time. These people forget that their whole life is shrouded in mystery. They do not think that any real explanation, even of the simplest natural phenomenon, is hidden in the darkness, and it is no easier to explain this phenomenon than the mystery of the Divine.”

Igor

No one knows the Father except the Son, and the Son reveals it to whomever he wants. How then can one vote without having a revelation from the Son?

emmanuel

It doesn't take much intelligence to answer this question. Just look at His creation. created in His Image and Likeness.. If we tell someone that he has three faces, or worse, is two-faced..., then we risk offending the person. Even if we argue for such an appeal to him by the fact that he consists of body, soul and spirit, this argument will not convince any sane people... and even himself... but in relation to his Creator, some of His children, allow such insults, following the majority of votes - out of spite....and upsetting their Father...

Igor

It’s not my business who is who, but the conclusion suggests itself that some do not know the Father and were born from some church doctrine and not from the Word, for the Word was, is and will be God! And we have no right to add or subtract from the Word, and It is not subject to private interpretation. I am writing in hopethat we will compare everything with the Word. Blessings to everyone!

Igor

Anyone who has had a personal experience with the Lord knows His presence and knows that the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But in order to reconcile us to Himself, He became a man. And if He entered the heart of man, then He was gone by one personality is greater.

Alexei

1 Cor 12:4-6, Here is a representation of this picture, and also 2 Cor 4:21-22, also 2 Cor 13:13, Eph 1:17. Eph 3:14-17, and here Titus 3:4-6. and here is 1 Pet 1,2. Heb 9:14 and lastly Jude 1:20-21. That’s something like this, I don’t intend to argue, I’m just showing the clarity of scripture in these verses. May grace and peace be with us. Amen.

Victor

Nobody knows if he even exists

Helena

There is Victor, and we are witnesses to this, may God grant you to meet Him and feel the fullness of God’s love!

Dshedoo

Looks like this Victor is a very cool guy

Sergey

God is not one - and this is not triune, this is a lie and the teaching of the Antichrist. But God is one and we must be and become having delved into the perfect law of freedom - the Word of the Living God with the Father and His Son in one Spirit, whoever knows this will say that he was not upset but became a fellow one nature of God.

teolog

St. Patrick, preaching in Ireland, used a clover leaf to show God's trinity. Three in one.

God is Triune. Evidence from the Old Testament

The rabbi of the Reform Temple Sinai of Philadelphia, Stanley Greenberg, wrote that, of course, Christians have the right to believe the doctrine of the trinity. But their efforts to confirm this teaching with the help of the Hebrew Bible crumble under the comprehensive arguments of the Bible itself... Scripture clearly and clearly speaks of one God... The Hebrew Bible unequivocally confirms the unity of the Godhead. He emphasized that it is monotheism, the uncompromising belief in one God, that is distinctive feature the Hebrew Bible, the inviolable foundation of Judaism and the unshakable faith of every Jew.

If we consider Christianity as polytheism or tritheism, Rabbi Greenberg reasoned, or if we consider the Christian concept of the trinity as one of the varieties of monotheism, only one conclusion always suggests itself: the trinity and Judaism are incompatible. Even if we consider the Christian faith as monotheistic, we can see that it does not seem monotheistic enough to qualify itself on a par with Judaism. It is these thoughts that he continues to express further, saying that under no circumstances can the concept of God's plurality or trinity be based on the Hebrew Bible.

Perhaps the best place to start is with the only evidence and source of Jewish theology, the Bible. If so much depends on the Hebrew Scriptures, then let us turn to them.

GOD IS MANY

Name Elohim

There is usually no controversy about the Hebrew noun Elohim (God), which ends in “im”, i.e. which is a masculine plural. The word Elohim is used in relation to the God of Israel Gen. 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and in relation to false gods, as in Exodus 20:3: “You shall have no other gods before Me” and in Deuteronomy 13: 2: “...let us follow other gods...” Even if this example is not yet a sign of the trinity of God, then at least it helps to understand His plurality.

Plural Verbs Used with Elohim

Almost all Jewish theological schools recognize that the word Elohim is a plural noun. However, they reject it as an argument about the plurality of God: “when the word Elohim is used in relation to the true God, it is necessarily followed by a singular verb, and when used to false gods, it is followed by a plural verb.” Here's how Rabbi Greenberg explains it:

“...the verb bara (created), used in the first verse of the Book of Genesis, is used in the singular. You don’t have to be a great specialist to understand that the very first verse of the Book of Genesis clearly testifies to the uniqueness of God.”

This statement is mostly true. The Bible teaches that “the Lord God is one God” and, indeed, when speaking about the true God, the verbs are used in the singular. However, there are exceptions when the word characterizing the true God is followed by a plural verb:

Genesis 20:13: "...when God led (literally led) me to wander from my father's house..."

Genesis 35:7: “...for then God appeared to him (literally appeared) as he fled from the presence of his brother...”

2 Samuel 7:23: “And who is like your people Israel, the only people on earth for whom God came (literally came) ...”

Psalm 57:12: “...therefore there is a God who judges (literally judges) on the earth...”

Name ELOAH

If the plural noun Elohim were the only possibility to describe the true God, one might assume that the writers of the Hebrew Scriptures had no other alternative to use the word in reference to both God and false deities. However, we also find it in the singular Eloah in texts, for example in Deuteronomy 32:15-17 or Habakkuk 3:3. In fact, such a word could be used constantly, however, it appears in the texts only 250 times, while the word Elohim - 2500 times. This indicates the plurality rather than the absolute oneness of God.

Pronoun WE

Familiarity with Hebrew grammar helps us to notice that God uses the pronoun We to refer to Himself.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness...” Genesis 1:26

It is unlikely that He addressed the angels, since man was created in the image of God, not angels. Midrash Rabbah on the Book of Genesis, while acknowledging that this passage is not an easy one, offers the following explanation: Rabbi Shmuel Bar-Hanman, on behalf of Rabbi Jonathan, said that Moses, writing down the Torah a little every day, reached the place where it is said: “And Elohim said, Let us make man in Our image, in Our likeness...” And Moses said: “Lord of the universe! Why do You give heretics (believers in the trinity) a reason for justification? God answered Moses: “You write, and let the one who errs be mistaken...” (Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 8:8, about Gen. 1:26). It is clear that Midrash Rabbah does not give a clear and convincing answer and is simply trying to avoid the question: “Why does God refer to Himself in the plural?”

A few more examples:

Genesis 3:22: “And the Lord God said, Behold, Adam also has become as one of Us in the knowledge of good and evil...”

Genesis 11:7: “Let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they may not understand one another’s speech...”

Plurality in God's Designations

The next feature that comes out of Hebrew is the indisputable fact that if we're talking about about God, the noun and adjective are often used in the plural. For example:

Ecclesiastes 12:1: “And remember thy Creator...” (literally the Creators)

Psalm 149:2: “Let Israel rejoice in their Creator...” (literally about the Creators)

Joshua 24:19: “...for He is a holy God” (literally holy gods)

Isaiah 54:5: “For your Creator is your spouse” (literally, Creators, spouses)

All these arguments are based on the peculiarities of Hebrew - the language of the Holy Scriptures. And if our theology is based solely on the authority of the Word of God, then we must admit that, on the one hand, it defines the unity of God, on the other, it speaks of His plurality.

Sh'MA Prayer

Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.”

The text from Deuteronomy 6:4, known as Sh'ma, has always served as the creed of Israel. This verse, more than any other, emphasizes the unity of God. Most often it is precisely this that is used to prove the uniqueness of God. But is this text always interpreted correctly?

Firstly, the words “our God” in the Jewish text are also used in the plural, that is, literally “our Gods.”

Secondly, the main argument is the expression “The Lord is one” (HaSHEM Ehad). One look at the Hebrew texts that use this word clearly reveals that Echad not only means “one single, singular,” but should be translated “the Lord is one,” indicating a complex unity.

It is known that in Genesis 1:5 the combination of evening and morning is called “one day” (echad). Further, in Genesis 2:24, a man and a woman in marriage are one flesh (echad). The Book of Ezra 2:64 says that the whole society, consisting of individuals, was together (literally as one - echad). Even more illustrative example serves as a verse from Ezekiel 37:17, where two rods make one (echad). So, the word echad is used to denote a complex (i.e., not absolute) unity. There is a special word in Hebrew for "monolithic" unity - yachid, and it can be found in many passages where oneness is emphasized (Genesis 22:2,12; Judges 11:34, Proverbs 4:3; Jeremiah 6:26; Amos 8:10; Zechariah 12:10). If Moses had taught that God is absolutely one, it would be difficult for him to find a more suitable word than yachid. By the way, Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, aka Rambam, Jewish theologian of the 12th century - approx. transl.) noticed the power of this word and used it in the “Thirteen Principles of Faith” instead of echad. However, it is simply not found in Deuteronomy 6:4.

GOD IS AT LEAST BINARY

Are Elohim and YHWH two persons?

Additional arguments that prove the "many in one" are passages in the Hebrew Scriptures where the word Elohim is applied to two persons mentioned in the same passage.

Psalm 44:7,8:

“Your throne, O God, endures forever; the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.

You loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore, O God, Your God has anointed You with the oil of joy more than Your fellows.”

It should be noted that here we are talking about the appeal of the second Elohim to the first Elohim, and the second Elohim is the God of the first Elohim.

Hosea 1:7 “But I will have mercy on the house of Judah and will save them in the Lord their God; I will save them with bow and sword and war and with horses and horsemen.” The speaker is Elohim himself. He assures that He will show His mercy to the house of Judah, and together with YHWH, your Elohim, He will save you. Once again: Elohim #1 will save Israel through Elohim #2.

Not only is the name Elohim used in one verse in relation to two persons. We see the same duality in God's own name. An example is found in Genesis 19:24:

“And the Lord rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.”

Apparently here YHWH #1 (who is in the earthly realm) will rain down fire and brimstone from YHWH #2 who is in the heavens.

Zechariah 2:8,9: “For thus says the Lord of hosts: It is for glory that He sent Me to the nations that plundered you; for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye. And behold, I will lift up My hand against them, and they will become the prey of their servants, and then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.”

Again, we see here one YHWH sending another YHWH to carry out a specific task.

The author of the book of Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah - approx. trans.), Zohar, found confirmation of plurality in the Tetragrammatron - the personal name of the God of Israel, indicated in the Hebrew Bible by the four consonants EHVH (YHWH). 300 years before Jesus, God's personal name was no longer spoken. The word Adonai (my Lord) began to be used as a replacement, which was later replaced by the word HaShem (name). The name Jehovah (often found in Bible translations - approx. Transl.) is just a literary form of a possible reading of the four consonants with vowels from the word Adonai (Encyclopedic Dictionary of Judaic Studies, 593).

The author of the Zohar writes: come and explore the secret of the word EHVH: there are three degrees, each of which exists separately: however, they form one and are connected so that they are inseparable from each other. They are so harmonious with each other that they cannot be separated from each other. The Ancient of Days is revealed in three persons united together and over whom He presides. The Ancient of Days is here described as triune, so that the light that comes from Him is in all three. But how can three names be one? Are they one because we call them that? How three can be one can only be known from the revelation of the Holy Spirit. (Zohar, vol. 3, p. 288, vol. 2, p. 43 Jewish edition, cf. Soncino Press Edition, vol. 3, p. 134)

GOD TRIune

How many persons are there in the trinity?

If in Jewish Holy Scripture clearly speaks of plurality, the question arises: how many persons of the Divine are there in total? We have already seen the word God used in relation to at least two persons. As we examine the Scriptures, we will realize that three and only three persons have ever been recognized as Divine.

1. The name HASHEM occurs so often that we will not give examples to confirm this.

2. The second person is referred to as the Angel of Hashem. He is unique and different from other angels. In almost every case it is said that He is the Angel of EHVH or Hashem himself. For example, in Genesis 16:7 we talk about the Angel of HASHEM, but already in 16:13 about HASHEM himself; in 22:11 He is the Angel of EHVH, but in 22:12 He is HaSHEM.

Here are some more examples:

In Genesis 31:11 He is the Angel of God and then in verse 13 it is God who appeared at Bethel.

In Exodus 3:2 it is the Angel of the Lord, and in verse 4 it is the Lord.

In Judges 6:11,12,20 and 21, it is the Angel of the Lord, but it is EHVH Himself in verses 14, 16, 22 and 23.

In Judges 13:3 and 21 it is the Angel of God, but verse 22 speaks of God.

Exclusively important place we find in Exodus 23:20-23. This Angel has the power to forgive sins because the name of EHVH is in Him, and therefore there is no need to persist against Him, but it is necessary to listen to Him unquestioningly. It is unlikely that this could apply to some ordinary angel. Even the fact that God’s Name was on this Angel testifies to His Divine origin and gives Him the status of God.

3. Another person - the Spirit of God Ruach HaKodesh. The Spirit of God is mentioned frequently in the Bible, including Genesis 1:2; 6:3, Job 33:4, Psalm 50:13, Psalm 139:7, Isaiah 11:2; 63:10,14. The Holy Spirit is not simply God's radiation or action. Everything that characterizes any personality is inherent in it (i.e. intellect, emotions and will). He is also considered as God.

There is clear evidence in various passages of Jewish texts that all three persons have a divine essence and are therefore God: the Lord (YHWH), the Angel of the Lord, and the Spirit of God.

Mention of all Three Personalities of Godhead in one passage

Holy Scripture does not shy away from mentioning all three persons of the Godhead in one passage. Two examples of this are Isaiah 48:12-16, and 63:7-14.

Isaiah 48:12-16

Listen to Me, Jacob and Israel, My called: I am the same, I am the first and I am the last. My hand founded the earth and My right hand stretched out the heavens; I will call them, and they will appear together. Gather together, everyone, and listen: who among them predicted this? The Lord loved him, and he will do His will over Babylon, and will show His arm over the Chaldeans. I, I spoke and called him; I have brought him, and his path will be prosperous. Come to Me and listen to this: I did not speak in secret at first; from the time this happens, I have been there; and now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent me

It should be noted that the speaker here recognizes Himself as the Creator of heaven and earth. It is clear that He is none other than God himself. But in verse 16 He again uses the pronouns “I” and “Me” and further views Himself as separate from the other two persons - the Lord God and the Spirit of God. Here the trinity is expressed much more clearly than anywhere else in Scripture.

The second passage of Isaiah 63:7-14 relates to the period of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, when God actively manifested Himself in all three persons. The Lord HaSHEM is mentioned in verse 7, the Angel of His presence in verse 9, and the Holy Spirit in 10, 11, and 14. Although God constantly refers to Himself as the Deliverer in the Old Testament, in these passages this refers to all three individuals to whom credit belongs for the liberation of Israel. There is therefore no contradiction in viewing them from the point of view of a “complex unity”.

So, the teaching of the Old Testament tells about the plurality of God. The first person is named as EHVH, the Second is the Angel of God, in which is the Name of God, the Servant of God. The second person is sent by HHVH to carry out a specific mission. The third person is the Spirit of the Lord, God's Spirit or the Holy Spirit. It is also sent by the First Person and is strongly associated with the service of the Second Person. Throughout the narrative, guided by the First Person, the Second and Third Persons are bound together in service.

If, according to the statements of modern rabbis, the concept of the trinity is not Jewish, then Scripture cannot be considered Jewish. Jews who believe in the Messiah Yeshua cannot be accused of paganism, since Yeshua (Jesus) is part of the trinity of God. He is the one about whom Moses wrote: “Behold, I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Watch yourself before His face, and listen to His voice; do not persist against Him, because He will not forgive your sin; For My Name is in Him. If you listen to His voice and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy of your enemies and an adversary of your opponents. When My angel goes before you and leads you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Queens, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them.” Exodus 23:20-23

Light of the New Testament

Without canceling the Old Testament teaching, New Testament clearly recognizes the three persons of the Godhead and characterizes them in more detail.

The first person is called God the Father, the second is called God the Son. The New Testament answers the question with Proverbs 30:4, “What is his son’s name?” His Name is Yeshua. He was sent by God as the Messiah. But this time He appeared not in the form of an Angel, but as a man. Moreover, He was sent to perform a specific task - to die for our sins. God became a man (but not a man - God!) in order to stop the action of sin forever (to make atonement). The New Testament names the Third Person of God - the Holy Spirit. By combining the teachings of the two parts of the Bible, He (the Holy Spirit) is directly related to the Messiah and His redemptive work.

So, in conclusion, we can say with confidence that both the Hebrew Scriptures (Tanakh - Old Testament) and the New Testament speak very clearly about the trinity of God: the Lord Hashem, the Angel of Hashem and the Spirit of God.

The Real Difference of Divine Persons

How should we understand that the Divine Persons really differ from each other? ?

— Not just three different names, but also real persons

The teaching of the Church emphasizes the reality of the existence of Divine Persons who are truly distinct from each other. So, although God is one, there are three Persons in Him, which are really different from each other. This means that “Father”, “Son”, “Holy Spirit” are not only three different names, but real Persons.

How do the Persons of the Holy Trinity differ from each other?

If the Divine Persons, as the Church teaches, are really different from each other, the question arises what is the basis of this real difference.

— Bogoslav terminology

To define the unity of God and His trinity, the Church uses the concepts:

— Persons differ not by nature, but by relationships

According to the teachings of the Church, in God there is one nature (essence, being), and the Persons really differ from each other only in relationships in which the so-called opposition of relationship occurs. “Everything is one in God “where there is no question of opposing relations.” In other words, everything is one and common in God with the exception of the relationship of the Father to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son. Only in these three interpersonal relationships there is a confrontation.

- God is one in His essence

The Divine Persons do not differ from each other in Their nature. “The Father is the same as the Son, the Son is the same as the Father, the Son and the Father are the same as the Holy Spirit, that is, one God by nature.” "Each of the three persons is this reality, that is, the Divine essence, being or nature." There is only one common Divine Being for all Persons of the Holy Trinity.

When Jesus said: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), He meant the one Divine nature, which is common and one for all the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. "The Divine Persons do not share a single Divinity, but each of Them is God as a whole." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 253)

God the Father

How is the Father different from the Son and from the Holy Spirit?

The Father differs from the Son and from the Holy Spirit not by His Divine nature, but by the fact that He is not born or emanated from anyone. Only the Father gives birth to the Son, who became man for our salvation.

God's Son

How does the Son of God differ from the Father and from the Holy Spirit?

- Son born of the Father

The Son of God is eternally born of God the Father, and in this way He really differs from Him and from the Holy Spirit. This is the only difference. Neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit is begotten as the Son.

- Word

St. John calls the Son of God the Word: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). In this Word, the Father eternally and completely expresses Himself, that is, gives birth to the Son.

— Nikeo - Constantinople

The Church's faith in the true Divinity of the Son of God, begotten from eternity of the Father, is expressed by the Nicene Creed of Constantinople:

I believe “and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, unmade, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things were created.”

Holy Spirit

How is the Holy Spirit different from the Father and from the Son of God?

— From the Father and the Son (Catholic teaching)

The Holy Spirit differs from other Divine Persons in that He comes from the Father and the Son. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed expresses this with the words: “And in the Holy Spirit (I believe), the Lord who gives life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; to whom, together with the Father and the Son, is due worship and glory.” The Holy Spirit is Love, possessing His own personality, by which the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father.

How does the Catechism of the Catholic Church relate to doctrine? Orthodox Church about the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father through the Son?

— From the Father through the Son who comes (Orthodox teaching)

The Orthodox Church teaches that the Holy Spirit does not come from the Father and the Son (on Latin Filioque), but from the Father through the Son. According to the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, these two ways of understanding the procession of the Holy Spirit, the Eastern and Latin traditions, do not contradict each other, but are complemented.

“The Eastern tradition primarily reflects the nature of the first cause of the Father in relation to the Spirit. The Spirit as the One who “proceeds from the Father” (John 15:26), it asserts that the Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son. The Western tradition expresses primarily the consubstantial communication between Father and Son, saying that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (Filioque). She says this “according to law and reason,” for the eternal order of the Divine Persons in their consubstantial communion implies that the Father is the first cause of the Spirit as the “beginning without beginning,” but also that, as the Father of the Only Begotten Son, He, together with Him, constitutes “one principle from which proceeds the Holy Spirit.” This legal complementarity, if it does not become a matter of aggravation, does not affect the essence of faith in the reality of the same confessed mystery. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 248)

How does the Catholic Church justify its belief in the procession of the Spirit from the Father and the Son (Filioque)?

— The Only Begotten Son received everything from the Father

The Catholic Church believes that the Son, born from eternity from the Father, received from Him absolutely everything, and also that the Holy Spirit can proceed from Him, as He proceeds from the Father.

“The Latin tradition of the Creed confesses that the Spirit proceeds “from the Father and the Son (Filioque).” The Council of Florence (1438) explains: “The being and being of the Holy Spirit proceeds simultaneously from the Father and the Son, and He eternally proceeds from the One and the Other as from one beginning and one breath... And since everything that the Father has, the Father Himself gave to the Only Begotten Son, giving birth to Him - everything with the exception of His Fatherhood - insofar the Son himself eternally receives this procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son from the Father, from Whom eternally born." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 246)

Inseparability of Divine Persons

Why are the Persons of the Holy Trinity inseparable?

— Divine Persons - one God

Really different from each other, the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity are inseparable, since They possess one single Divine nature. They are one God. "Because of this unity, the Father is wholly in the Son, wholly in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father, wholly in the Son." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 255)

- “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” (John 14:11)

Where Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is present, the Father and the Holy Spirit are also present. This mystery of the inseparability of the Divine Persons was meant by Jesus when he said: “Believe Me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” (John 14:11); “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30); “He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me” (John 12:45).

MOSCOW THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE

ABSTRACT

"Trinity of God"

Student:

Golev Yu.V.

Teacher:

Onufriychuk P.I.

Moscow 2013

Introduction

The theology of the Church of Evangelical Christians - Pentecostals, like the doctrines of other evangelical churches, is based on the main principle of Protestantism, clearly formulated by Martin Luther: “Scripture alone.”

Pentecostals profess the trinity of God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, each Person having all the attributes of God. Pentecostals believe that Christ is the only mediator between God and people, and they believe in the atoning sacrifice of Christ. The doctrine of salvation is based on Arminianism - that is, the belief that Christ died for all people and now it is up to the person himself to voluntarily accept this gift of the Lord and inherit eternal life, or to reject it and inherit eternal destruction. Pentecostal theology notes the special role of the Holy Spirit, who came to earth for creation Church of Christ on the day of Pentecost and now constantly lives in believers, inspiring, teaching, exposing sins, sanctifying, strengthening believers, making them capable of every good deed, revealing spiritual secrets, foreshadowing the future.

The Bible's doctrine of the Trinity of God is important to know for several reasons.

Firstly, God Himself revealed this secret to us on the pages of the Bible, which means that without a correct understanding of the Trinity, our knowledge of God will be incomplete and distorted.

Secondly, through knowledge of the Trinity of God, we better understand the depth of divine love, which not only manifests itself in relation to people, but also forms the basis of relationships within the Trinity.

Third, without this teaching, we cannot truly understand the redemptive work of our Triune God, since it is impossible to properly understand the saving work of Jesus Christ without understanding His relationship with the Father, and the greatness of the Father's self-sacrifice without understanding His inseparable unity with the Son.

Fourthly, the deliberate rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity, in whole or in part, is a sure sign that we are dealing with heretics or even non-Christians.

1. One God in Three Persons

The doctrine of the Trinity (or Trinity) is one of the most complex in Christian theology. Moreover, our mind is placed in a difficult position when discussing this teaching. We must accept a teaching that not only cannot be fully understood by us, but also contradicts our usual logic, when one cannot be equal to three.

From ancient times to this day, Christians have been trying to find suitable illustrations to visually demonstrate the Trinity. Perhaps one of the most successful analogies can be the three states of matter. For example, water that remains water in the form of liquid, and in the form of ice, and in the form of steam. But this example is still not perfect. It must be admitted that no perfect analogy can be found in the material world. divine Trinity(2 Cor. 13:13 “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen”).

Recognition of the biblical teaching in its entirety inevitably leads to the doctrine of the Trinity: there is one Living God, who is in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit (I Peter 1:1-2 “Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ , to the strangers scattered in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, with sanctification of the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ: grace and peace be multiplied to you." Moreover, each of the Persons of the Trinity has the properties of personality and the fullness of Divinity. This may seem paradoxical, but we have no choice but to bow before the Lord’s majesty and accept the Triune God by faith.

Distortion, especially complete denial of the doctrine of the Trinity of God is a serious error (Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”).

2. God is Father

Holy Scripture shows us the character of God the Father through the actions of the other two persons of the Trinity - God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It is no coincidence that at the beginning of the Gospel of John it is said that “no one has ever seen God; the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed” (John 1:18).

The Bible tells us that “the Father has life in himself.” At the same time, Jesus says of Himself that the Father “gave Him to have life in Himself” (John 5:26). In other words, the Father has no other reason for His existence other than Himself, and the primary cause of the life of the Son, and accordingly the life of the Holy Spirit, is the Father. The life of the Father does not precede the life of the Son and the Holy Spirit in time (since they are without beginning), but the life of God the Father is the mysterious fundamental principle of the divine life of the other two Persons of the Trinity.

The Bible also reveals to us that despite the essential equality of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, there is a certain functional subordination between them. In particular, the Word of God definitely speaks of the subordination of the Son and the Holy Spirit to the Father in the work of salvation. The leading role of the Father is not dictatorial in nature, but is carried out in love, with voluntary submission to the Father on the part of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The creation of the world was primarily the work of God the Father, although the participation in this of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is obvious. God the Father is the root cause of the creation of the universe, heavenly bodies, Earth, animals and flora, as well as angels and us humans.

Perhaps in nothing is the loving essence of God the Father so clearly revealed as in the fact that He sacrificed His own Son, sending Him into the world to suffer: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him did not perish, but had eternal life” (John 3:16).

God the Father is not only the Father of His Only Begotten Son, but also the Father of every believer (Matthew 7:11 “If you therefore, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him”) .

It is no coincidence that after His resurrection Jesus said that He ascends “to my Father and your Father...” (John 20:17). This means that God shows truly parental, paternal love and care towards us.

trinity god holy spirit

3. God is the Son

This Hypostasis of God had its own special role in world history. God the Son became incarnate and became Man, whom we now know as the Lord and Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. As the Word of God testifies, “in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). God the Son, or as He is called at the beginning of the Gospel of John, “the Word,” has always been God (John 1:1-2) and remains so after the incarnation.

In order to solve the problem of sin and restore the full relationship between God and humanity, lost as a result of the Fall, the Son of God became incarnate (that is, became Man). Having become Man, the Son of God “made himself of no reputation” (Phil. 2:6-8 “He, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, taking on the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of a man, and becoming in appearance as a man: he humbled himself, becoming obedient even to death, even death on the cross").

The incarnation of the Son of God was miraculous. He was born of a virgin. Even though the Son of God chose to become a Man, He was a unique Human Being from the beginning (Gal. 4:4 “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His (Only Begotten) Son, who was born of a woman”).

The biblical doctrine of the incarnation is another confirmation of the doctrine of the Trinity of God, since God the Son (God the Word) was an eternal divine person before His incarnation.

From a biblical perspective, ancient and modern attempts to talk about Jesus as simply genius man, famous for His special wisdom, holiness and tragic life. People who deliberately deny the Divinity of Jesus Christ (for example, Jehovah's Witnesses) do not know Him and are not Christians.

4. The Person of the Holy Spirit

Both in the past and in the present, there are people who treat the Holy Spirit as some kind of faceless force. This delusion must be rejected as completely unacceptable. The Holy Spirit guides believers (Rom. 8:14), gives gifts (1 Cor. 12:11), prays for believers, He can be lied to (Acts 5:3), He can be insulted (Eph. 4:30).

Even from this incomplete list it is clear that the Holy Spirit cannot in any way be an impersonal force, but is certainly a person.

It should be noted that the Holy Spirit is God in the full sense, just like God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is called God by the Apostle Peter when he convicts her husband Ananias of lying (Acts 5:3-4). It is said about the Holy Spirit that “the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10 “But God has revealed these things to us by the Holy Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God”). Naturally, only a person who is Divine can penetrate the depths of God.

The divinity of the Holy Spirit is clearly seen in other texts of Holy Scripture. Let us cite two texts that definitely speak of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers on a par with the presence of the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19 and 2 Cor. 13:13).

The Holy Spirit, being the third Person of the Trinity, comes from the Father. The Holy Spirit is inseparably connected with God the Father, having in Him the basis of His Divine existence, although co-eternal with the Father. The Holy Spirit, like God the Son, does the will of the Father, since it comes from Him (John 15:26) “When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father. He will testify about Me."

In this the Unity of God finds its expression, Who remains absolutely One, despite the trinity. The Holy Spirit cannot be seen in isolation from God the Father and God’s one plan of salvation (1 Cor. 12:13 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit”).

Conclusion

There is one God and worship belongs to Him alone, our Creator and Savior. To Him alone belongs worship and prayer service. “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone” (Matt. 4:10; Luke 4:8). Therefore, we should not worship angels, saints, the Virgin Mary, or prayerfully venerate any objects (crosses, relics, etc.). Although literate believers in the Orthodox and Catholic churches do not give saints and objects of divine honor, that is, they do not turn the veneration of saints into polytheism, and the veneration of icons into idolatry, nevertheless, any prayerful veneration of anyone or anything other than God is or prayer addressed to anyone other than the Lord is not in accordance with the Word of God.

The Union of the Divine and Human Natures in the Person of Christ The unity of the nature of Christ shows us the closest connection between God and humanity. As believers, we are called to live our lives in complete unity with the God who redeemed us. Unity with God in prayer, in life, in the process of sanctification is the moral duty of every believer.

Heavenly Father surrounds us with truly parental love and care. We must always remember this and thank Him for such a wonderful attitude towards us. Even punishing believers. God remains a loving Lord (Heb. 12:6). “Let us love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

The Holy Spirit is a Divine person and we must not only believe this ourselves, but also explain the true biblical teaching to those who perceive the Spirit of God as some kind of impersonal force.

It should be noted that the term and expression used in the Word of God to designate certain properties or actions of the Divine are often figurative or, due to poverty human languages, approximate. There are no words in any language that could adequately express the fullness of the relationships within the Trinity.

We should be grateful to God that He revealed Himself to us in His incomprehensible Trinity. Even if we never fully understand this mystery, we must appreciate the Creator who has revealed himself to us as much as possible.

Bibliographic list of used literature

1.Bible: synodal translation. - United Bible Societies, 1997.

.W. Grudem Systematic theology: an introduction to biblical teaching: Trans. from English - St. Petersburg: Mirt, 2004.- 1453 p.

.L. F Forlines. Biblical taxonomy. The Bible is for everyone. St. Petersburg: 1996. - 271 p.

.S. Horton. Systematic theology. Life Publishers International. 1999. - 935 s

.W. Menzies and Stanley Horton. Biblical Doctrines. Life Publishers International. 1999.

.Berkhov L. History of Christian doctrines. St. Petersburg: Bible for everyone, 2000. - 317 p.

.Encyclopedic dictionary in 3 volumes. T. 3. Great Russian Encyclopedia. M.: 1995. -783 p.

.Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by W. Elwell. - St. Petersburg: Bible for everyone, 2000. - 12 p.

.M. V. Ivanov Fundamentals of systematic theology

Internet resources:

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The main idea of ​​the doctrine of the Trinity is the concept of the trinity of God, that is, the existence of three Persons who have the same nature. God is one, but in three Persons.
Each Person has always been and is God in its entirety. Each individual Person in its entirety is equal to two other Persons and they all participate in the consubstantial Divinity. No Person is greater or less than two other Persons.

God is not comprehended by the human mind, but out of love for his creation, God opens up and reveals Himself to man in three Persons. The three divine Persons are God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. These three Persons have a single Divine nature, but at the same time have a special personality of their own. The doctrine of the Trinity, that God is one, but in three persons, is not specifically stated in the Holy Scriptures. In the Bible we do not find the word “Trinity” at all. However, for Christianity it is one of the most important teachings and it is based on evidence from the Holy Scriptures.

The doctrine of the Trinity allows us to more clearly reveal and understand the essence of God, the relationships, what they can be and what they should be between God and man. The doctrine of the Trinity is generally a distinctive feature of Christianity. None world religion, except Christianity, does not teach that God is one, but in three persons and each face is Divine. This is a very important part of our Christian faith. The doctrine of the Trinity helps to better reveal the essence of God; who is God, what is He like, what is His relationship to man, how can man approach God?

The next factor in the significance and importance of the doctrine of the Trinity is the matter concerning Jesus Christ; who is he? Is He Really God? Is He really the bearer of the Divine nature? At all times, there have been and continue to be debates around the personality of Jesus Christ and His nature. History knows many statements that Christ is not God, He is just a man. Others believed that He became God during baptism or even after the resurrection. And before that He was an ordinary person, although very smart and virtuous.

Holy Scripture tells us about several Divine mysteries. This is the mystery of the Incarnation. “And without any doubt this is a great mystery of godliness: God was revealed in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). The Apostle Paul speaks of another mystery: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the Church” (Eph. 5:31-32). The question of the trinity of God or God in three persons is one of the greatest mysteries of God. This issue causes a lot of controversy among theologians, and different understandings and views on the issue of the trinity of God continue to live in our time.

Dr. Aiden Tozer has a wonderful comment on this: “Some people who reject everything they cannot explain deny that God is triune. Looking intently at the Almighty with their cold and calm gaze, they think that it cannot be that He is both One and Three at the same time. These people forget that their whole life is shrouded in mystery. They do not think that any real explanation, even of the simplest natural phenomenon, is hidden in the darkness, and it is no easier to explain this phenomenon than the mystery of the Divine.” But, despite the fact that there is no clear and specific teaching about the Trinity in the Bible, we affirm that there is a Biblical justification for the understanding of God as one God, but in three persons.

The Bible teaches quite clearly and definitely that God is indivisible. The biblical God is one: “The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4). These words affirm Monotheism. There is only one God, who created everything and gave life to every living creature. No one will ever be able to stand next to and compare with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God told Moses, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). In other words, I was, am and will be. The Apostle Paul states the truth that there is only one God. He writes in his letter to Timothy: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5-6). The Ten Commandments that were given by God to Moses began with the words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:2-3). A jealous God is the true God. He alone is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The history of Israel is full of examples when God, Jehovah, showed His absolute superiority over all that other peoples considered their gods. The unique difference between the God of Israel and our God from all other so-called gods is shown by the Apostle Paul. He simply says that all other gods are idols and they are nothing to us, but we have one God! He writes: “So, about eating food sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no other God but the One. For although there are so-called gods, either in heaven or on earth, since there are many gods and many lords, we have one God the Father, from whom are all things, and we are for Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things , and we by Him” (1 Cor. 8:4-6).

At the same time, there are many biblical texts that show us the three faces of God. This is the face of God the Father, the face of God the Son and the face of God the Holy Spirit. For example, at the baptism of Jesus, we clearly see the participation of all three persons of the Godhead in this act. Jesus Christ receives baptism, the Holy Spirit descends on Him in the form of a dove, and the Father testifies from heaven: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17). This is also clearly seen in the command Jesus Christ gave to his disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). This text, it seems to me, is especially important and significant due to the fact that it came from the lips of the Lord himself. This is not a command of the Apostle Paul, not a decree of the Church Council, this is an order of the Lord, where all three persons of the Divine are mentioned. So we have looked at this issue in the light of the New Testament. Meanwhile, in the Old Testament there are texts on the basis of which we can draw a conclusion about God, as about God in three persons or about God in plural persons. For example, in the book of Genesis it is said: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). And Isaiah says that one day he heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (Isaiah 6:8). The words “Let us create, to ours and to us” are plural words. This is a clear indication of several Persons.

What evidence do we have in Scripture that all three persons are one? What evidence is there in Scripture that we have a triune God?

Firstly, it should be noted that all three hypostases carry the Divine nature. No one doubts the divinity of the Father. All Scripture speaks of Him as the Heavenly Father, thereby emphasizing His Divinity. “Your Father is in heaven” (Matt. 6:26). We have “one God the Father” (1 Cor. 8:6). The Divinity of the Father is also emphasized by His properties: Omnipotence. “I am God Almighty” (Gen. 17:1). The Lord, turning to Jeremiah, says: “I am the Lord of all flesh. If anything is impossible for Me? (Jer. 32:27).

He is omniscient and omnipresent. Omniscient means knowing everything and being aware of everything. Omnipresent - having time to go everywhere, taking part in everything. “Oh, the depth of wealth and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destiny and unsearchable His ways” (Rom. 11:33). David exclaims: “Where can I go from Your Spirit and where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7). “Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly” (Matt. 6:4). These passages of Holy Scripture speak of God, who at all times and in all places knows and knows everything.

He is limitless. This means that there are no limits that limit God. He is God who cannot be measured, He is immeasurable. “Truly, shall God live on earth? Heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You” (1 Kings 8:27).

Our God is an imperishable God. Imperishable, in the sense of eternal, never disappearing. “And the glory of the incorruptible God was changed into an image made like corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things” (Rom. 1:23). These are just a few of the qualities of God the Father that speak of His Divinity.

DIVINENESS AND SUS A

H R I S T A.

On the question of the Divinity of Jesus Christ there have always been different opinions. Some affirmed His Divinity, others categorically denied. Thus, the famous teaching of Gnosticism asserted that the Lord Jesus Christ had only the appearance of flesh. He did not have a real human body, but a ghostly, illusory one. But this statement is completely inconsistent with the Biblical teaching about the incarnation. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ was material and real. Jesus Christ, like all people, experienced fatigue, weariness, thirst and hunger. The Holy Scripture clearly speaks about this: The temptation of Jesus in the desert (Matt. Chapter 4). Conversation between Christ and the Samaritan woman at the well (John. Chapter 4).

So, the body of Jesus Christ was not ghostly or illusory. That is, the incarnation of God into man was genuine. John writes: “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14). He does not write that the word became to some extent like flesh, It became flesh.

In contrast to Gnosticism, it was believed that Jesus Christ did not have a divine nature. Arianism became the highest form of denial of the Divinity of Christ; this heresy was condemned at Nicaea and Councils of Constantinople in 325 and 381.

Arianism is a heretical doctrine that denies the Divinity of Jesus. The supporters of this heresy taught that the Son was not eternal, did not exist before birth, and was not without beginning. The founder was Arius, a presbyter from Alexandria.

In the 17th century, the so-called doctrine of Socinianism arose, named after Faustus Socinus. Supporters of this doctrine rejected the dogma of the Holy Trinity. They taught that if Christ were not “a mere man,” He could not be an example to men. Currently, such religious movements as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses believe that only God the Father is the true God, and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit do not possess divinity. However, the Divinity of Christ is emphasized many times in the New Testament. The Gospel of John begins with a wonderful narrative: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; and we have seen His glory, the glory as of the only begotten from the Father” (John 1:1). The truth clearly evident in this text is that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, is the same Word who was in the beginning and was the Word of God. It was It that became Flesh. “God appeared in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). At the same time, the birth of Christ is not the emergence of a new personality, or a new God. This is a manifestation of an already existing God.

Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones writes in his book: “God the Father, God the Son” Pg. 232. “Notice that I did not say that with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth a new personality appeared in Bethlehem. This is wrong. This statement is a clear heresy. According to the doctrine of the incarnation, the eternal, second person of the Trinity entered the time and space of this world, took on human nature, was born as an infant, lived a human life, and was manifested in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3).

The baby in the womb and in the manger of Bethlehem was a helpless baby, like any newborn, but He, at the same time, was the second person of the Holy Trinity. This is in no way understandable to the human mind. Jesus Himself testifies to His existence before His birth in the manger of Bethlehem. He says, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). John sees this Word, which became Flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ, as the beginning of everything in general, he sees Him as the source of life. “All things were made through Him” (John 1:3). “He is the firstborn of every creation” (Col. 1:15). Moreover, Christ testifies to his one essence to the Father. “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Repeatedly He says: “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me, and the Father who abides in Me does the works” (John 14:10). The divinity of Christ, and His one essence to the Father, is remarkably confirmed in the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy. “God appeared in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). God cannot lose His Divine nature, but at the same time He appeared in human flesh and took on the image of a man. If God cannot lose His Divine nature, then He who appeared to us in Christ retains His Divinity.

Possessing all the fullness of the Godhead, Jesus Christ performs divine activity in his earthly ministry: “He forgives sins” (Luke 5:21). “He saves sinners” (John 10:9). Jesus Christ “gives eternal life” (John 10:27-28). “He judges” (Matt. 25:31-36). Jesus Christ also possesses all the properties and qualities that God the Father possesses. He is omnipresent. “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). He is omnipotent. “This one, being the radiance of glory and the image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, having by Himself made atonement for our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3). Jesus Christ Himself said to John on the island of Patmos: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end... The First and the Last... Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:817), etc. So, Christ is the Son of God and the eternal image of the invisible God. Heb. 1.3. “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones writes: “The Son did not begin His existence in Bethlehem. He came from eternity, from the bosom of God Himself and, having accepted special shape, entered earthly life, in time, in history” (God the Father, God the Son p. 232).

DIVINE SPIRIT

S V I T O G O.

Now let us consider the question concerning the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a divine person. This is the person with whom we have the most direct relationship. For this reason, we should study more carefully His nature, actions and work in us and with us. In principle, the Divinity of the third hypostasis of the Deity - the Holy Spirit, follows from the recognition of the consubstantiality of the Son and the Father. But, nevertheless, this requires logical and, moreover, Biblical justification.

Some see a difference between the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. However, the Bible teaches that there is only one Spirit. “One body and one Spirit” (Eph. 4:4). The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ is the Holy Spirit. He is the same. We find confirmation of this in the words of the Apostle Paul. “But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Rom. 8:9). “He who is united with the Lord is one spirit with the Lord, and your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you” (1 Cor. 6:17-19). Pursuing the same thought, the Apostle Paul, however, uses different expressions. Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Spirit of the Lord, Holy Spirit. This clearly indicates that they are the same Spirit. There can be no mistake here, for the author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit, who inspired various writers. The Holy Spirit controlled them in such a way that they did not make a single mistake, there are no contradictions in the entire Bible, although all 66 books of the Bible were written by different people and at different times. It is amazing. So: the Father is God, the Son is God, which means the Spirit of the Father and the Son is also God.

Scripture speaks clearly and definitely about the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has divine properties. He is omnipresent: “Wherever I go from Your Spirit.” (Psalm 139:7). He is omnipotent: “Thou shalt send Thy Spirit, they shall be created” (Psalm 103:30). Omniscience is also a property of the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10). This is evidence of the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. For He has the same qualities or attributes as God the Father. Further, the Holy Spirit, as the Power of the Most High, participated in the birth of Jesus Christ through the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:35). Likewise, the Holy Spirit manifests great divine power, for He changes human hearts, reviving them to a new and holy life. And one more confirmation of this truth. The Apostle Peter, denouncing Ananias, said: “Why did you allow Satan to put a thought into your heart, lie to the Holy Spirit, and hide from the price of the land? You lied not to men, but to God!” (Acts 5:3-4). In these words, the Apostle Peter identifies God the Father with the Holy Spirit, thereby showing and affirming the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The above passages of Scripture clearly refute the views of the Arians, who denied the Divinity of the Holy Spirit (Arius was an Alexandrian presbyter who lived in the 4th century).

Speaking about the divinity of the Holy Spirit, it should be emphasized that the Holy Spirit is a person. Not only at the dawn of Christianity, but also in our time, there is a belief that the Holy Spirit is simply a force, or a certain influence that can manifest itself in the form of a blow of wind, etc. For example, the Socinians mentioned earlier, followers of Socinus, taught that the Holy Spirit is simply a divine force, but not a person. This misunderstanding leads to many today, primarily in the charismatic movement, who teach that we need more of this “power” to perform signs and wonders of all kinds. Scripture teaches that more humility is needed so that the Holy Spirit can guide us, use us and do his work through us. That is, we do not use Him, but He uses us as He pleases. The proof that the Holy Spirit is a person is also that He has a will, for “He gives gifts as He pleases” (1 Cor. 12:11). He can talk. “The Spirit said to Philip” (Acts 8:29). He intercedes for us. “He makes intercession for the Saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:26-27). You can lie to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). He can be resisted (Acts 7:51). He can be insulted and blasphemed (Matt. 12:31,32). Moreover, the Holy Spirit is directly involved in the salvation of sinners. He convicts of sin, points to Christ as the Savior, to His sacrifice and blood. He leads to repentance and gives strength to repent. He further accomplishes the greatest work of building a spiritual home in every person who has accepted Jesus Christ by faith. Charles Spurgeon said: “It is a blessed work to preach the salvation of Jesus Christ. But not mentioning the role of the Holy Spirit in salvation is evil. A ransom has been paid for us, but it is only through the Spirit that we know redemption. We have been given precious blood, but without the Holy Spirit we could never be cleansed by it through faith and repentance” (12 Sermons on the Holy Spirit. Page 124). Based on the above, it is quite obvious that in the Holy Scriptures the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of God are one and the same Spirit, which is the Divine Person.

So, this is an amazing and incomprehensible truth to the human mind. Three Divine Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, in essence, is one indivisible God! Moreover, one should always keep in mind that this trinity is based on the equal unity of all three persons. One may get the impression that all three persons, although one, are not equal. For example, Jesus himself once said, “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). Jesus also repeatedly emphasized that He does only what the Father tells Him, that He does only His will (John 8:28-29). However, the word of God teaches us that “Christ did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” (Phil. 2:6). The Apostle Paul also writes: that “in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 29).

However, there is an explanation for this apparent contradiction. During the Ecumenical Church Councils, when there were disputes about the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Church Fathers wrote: “Equal to the Father in His Divine Essence; less than the Father in his human essence“God incarnated in the image of a man, He became the son of man, but this does not mean that He lost His Divine nature. He did not manifest it, but He could not lose or renounce the Divine essence. Of course, this is the greatest mystery to the end, incomprehensible.

EQUAL UNITY OF THREE.

So, what is the expression of the trinity or the equal unity of the three? The question of the equal unity of the three has also always been a subject of debate and even division. Thomas Watson in his works: “Fundamentals of Practical Theology” writes: “The Trinity is one in its essence. The three Hypostases have the same Divine nature and it cannot be said that one Hypostasis is more God than the other. The unity of the Persons of the Trinity consists in Their mutual existence in each other, or in the existence of all together in one. All three persons are so inseparable that each is in the other and together with the other” “Thou art the Father in me, and I in thee” (John 17:21).

Today there are two directions. One recognizes that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son. Another school of thought believes that the Holy Spirit comes only from the Father. We adhere to the doctrine that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. We do this on the basis that the Holy Spirit is as much a Divine Person as God the Father and God the Son.

Since the creation of the Universe, we find this equal trinity. The first chapter of Genesis tells us about the creation of the heavens and the earth. God the Father, God the Son and the Spirit of God participated in this creation, i.e. God the Holy Spirit. (We previously said that the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit are one and the same Spirit) (Gen. 1:1-2). In the letter to the Colossians we read: “Who (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the first begotten of all creation: for by him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones of dominions, or rulers, authority—all things were created by Him and for Him” (Col. 1:15-16). This is blessed unity - all three persons participate in creation: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!

Let's pay attention to the Incarnation and carefully read about it in the Gospel of Luke. The angel of God says to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; Therefore, that which is born holy will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). In this word it is quite obvious that the entire Holy Trinity participates in the Incarnation: the Most High Himself or God the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Son of God - Jesus Christ. We find wonderful evidence of the trinity at the baptism of Jesus. Evangelist Luke writes that when Christ was baptized, the sky opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven: “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22 ). Again we meet with the trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Resurrection of Christ and our resurrection takes place with the direct participation of the Holy Trinity. “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom. 8:9-11). This is, although not direct, but quite substantiated the Biblical teaching about the Trinity. Otherwise it can not be. After all, the essence is that, performing certain functions, this or that person of the Divine ultimately accomplishes the same thing, has the same goal - the salvation of sinful humanity. “God the Father gave His Son” (John 3:16). The Son of God died for the sins of people, as the Lamb of God (John 1:36). The Holy Spirit today “convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment,” leading people to repentance (John 16:8-9). The participation of the Trinity in the salvation of man is also clearly reflected in other verses of the Gospel of John. John writes that when Christ leaves, he will pray to the Father, who will send another Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. He will come to you and be with you always and teach you everything (John 14:15-18). He will not glorify Himself and will not speak from Himself, but will recall everything that Christ said (John 16:14).

The equal Trinity is beautifully expressed in the Lord's command about baptism. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). There is no suggestion here that any person of the Godhead has superiority over another person or that there is any subordination. All three are equally one. The apostolic blessing contains a confirmation of the doctrine of the trinity of God. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:13). Here we see an equal and equal blessing, one, indivisible God in three Persons. Thomas Watson said on this truth: “If one God exists in three Persons, let us treat all the persons of the Trinity with equal respect. The Trinity has no greater or lesser. The divinity of the Father does not exceed the divinity of the Son or the Holy Spirit. The Trinity has order, but not rank. Not one of the Persons bears the title of His Eminence, which elevates it above others, therefore we must worship all Persons with equal zeal.”
“That all may honor the Son as they honor the Father” (John 5:23).
From all the reasoning, the following conclusions can be drawn:
- God is one, but in three persons.
- He is one, but does not consist of three different beings.
- Each individual The Triune God carries within himself the Divine nature.
- Each person of the Divine at a certain time performed a certain function, outwardly one could notice some kind of subordination, but in fact, all three Persons were always in complete agreement and absolute unity, performing one common task - the salvation of the human race.
- All three Persons of the Divine have always been, are and will be, for They are eternal.

The Apostle Paul tells us another amazing truth: God the Father will subject all things to His Son, and then the Son himself will submit to the Father, and “GOD will be ALL IN EVERYTHING.”(1 Cor. 15:28).

Scripture teaches us that, for the sake of our salvation, there is a division of labor and subordination between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father is the fullness of the Godhead and “No man has seen Him, or can see Him” (1 Tim. 6:16). It has no boundaries. The Son is the fullness of the Godhead, manifested in a visible way, “for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). And then comes an astonishing statement! The Holy Spirit is the fullness of the Godhead and acts directly upon creation. Do you see the difference? There is the invisible fullness of the Godhead, the visible fullness of the Godhead, and the fullness of the Godhead acting directly and directly in us. Thus, we can say that the Spirit, by His power, reveals the Father in the form of the Son! (Martin Lloyd - Jones, God the Holy Spirit. Page 25).

How to depict the Trinity of God as an example?

Second part Our question is how to depict the Trinity of God using an example?

This is a very difficult task. If it were easy and simple, then there probably wouldn’t be such long and heated discussions. In explaining this issue, I use the example of water. It comes in three states: water, ice and steam. But when using this analogy, I always make a reservation that this is also a very weak example, which does not fully explain this Divine mystery Trinity.

Tertullian once said: “The doctrine of the Trinity is revealed by God, and not constructed by man. From a human point of view it is so absurd that no one could have invented it. We adhere to the doctrine of the Trinity not because it is completely obvious or logically flawless. We adhere to it because in it God revealed what He is.”

The doctrine of the Trinity or the unity of God, in which there are three Persons, is a supernatural doctrine. This is one of God's greatest mysteries. This is a wonderful revelation from God, which must be believed with deep humility and reverence. Therefore, all human attempts to explain this greatest secret- doomed. This truth can only be judged spiritual person whose mind is enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Let us be very careful in our desires to penetrate into the greatest mystery of the Divine. Let us always maintain special reverence before the Face of the invisible, but revealed in the flesh, God!

Primary Pastor of the Church SLAVIC CHURCH ECB “ON THE MOUNTAIN”

Born in the small Siberian city of Tara, Omsk region.
There were twelve children in the family.
Today they are all adults, have their own families, and have all come to know the Lord in due time.
Three of them serve as pastors.
Alexander Kirillovich has unfinished higher education: "Omsk Medical Institute".
At the age of 21, Alexander Kirillovich received Holy water baptism in a church in Almaty.
It was there that he began his ministry among young people and his work as a preacher.
In 1972 he married his sister in faith, Olga Khivrenko. They have five children and several grandchildren.
All children are believers, church members, and serve in churches.
Since 1973, Alexander served as secretary of the Council under the senior presbyter in Kyrgyzstan.
Then, for 15 years, until 1993, he served as pastor in the ECB Church in Frunze.
Alexander took an active part in many evangelistic activities of the former Soviet Union.
Currently lives in the USA, Spokane.
He serves as a pastor in the ECB Church and is the Chairman of the North-West Union
Slavic churches of North America.
In 2009 he received a Master of Divinity degree from the International Theological Seminary (Florida).
For the past 18 years, he has been making missionary trips around different countries peace,
together with a men's choir from Germany.

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