1 + 1 + 1 = One Series

1 + 1 + 1 = One - Captain Erika Hernandez

Genesis 1:1-2; 26-27

http://pomonacorps.blogspot.com/2009/03/1-plus-1-plus-1-equals-one-tsa-doctrine.html

Looking at our Title for today, you might be thinking, “What kind of math is she going to teach us today?” Today we will cover the third doctrine of the Salvation Army which states:

We believe that there are three persons in the Godhead – the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory.

As a child I completely took the Trinity on faith and did not question because as children we have the ability to find things simple and not over think it. When it comes to the Trinity, we have to that mind set but it’s important to not try and over think the God-head.

There are mystery’s about God that we might never know the answer to but for me personally it’s that mystery that keeps me coming back; wanting to know more and more of the almighty creator.

Even though it might be difficult to understand just how the Trinity works here is an analogy; when captain and I were in Training school, we would have these interesting roles of bread which we called Trinity Bread. Imagine having three types of dough (white, wheat, and

pumpernickel) put into one container and placed in the oven to bake.

Once coming out there will be one piece of bread having all three flavors united to create one bread; yet one can easily see the different types of bread.

Although Trinity is not a word we see in the Bible, Christian theology has used it to designate the threefold manifestation of the one God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is one (Gal 3:20 - “now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but god is one.” But Son (John 1:1 - “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Col 2:9 “for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”.

And Spirit (1 Cor 3:16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” All are fully God, yet they are distinct from the Father and each other; The Father sends the Son and the Spirit. “There is one body and on Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, on baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Eph 4:4-6

The doctrine of the Trinity attempts to answer such enormous questions as ’What is God really like? How do Father, Son and Holy Spirit relate to one another? If there is only one God, why do we worship Jesus?’ for Christians, the main witness to the doctrine is found in the Bible.

But it was in the early centuries of the Christians Church that the biblical revelation was tested in the crucible of Christian experience. From this developing understanding the doctrine of the Trinity emerged. It cannot of course say the last word on the nature of God. But it does provide a benchmark or means by which all who call themselves can be identified.

The Bible is the record of God’s deeds and of what he has chosen to reveal about himself.

Although the word Trinity does not appear in its pages at all, the Christians belief is built on firm biblical foundations. The Old Testament speaks of one god, the great creator-redeemer, sustaining a dynamic relationship with his people by his love and saving grace.

And yet even the Old Testament’s descriptions of the one god cannot adequately be contained within the confines of a simple monotheism. At times God acts or speaks through his Wisdom or his Word, almost giving them a personal identity (Proverbs 1:20-33; Psalm 33:6). There are

also hints of the presence of God’s Spirit in personal form (Psalm 139:7).

Such personification indicated that within Old Testament monotheism there are hints of trinitarian revelation. They prepare the way for the totally new revelation of god that is to come through Jesus.

Following the Resurrection, the early Christians, who were mainly monotheistic Jews, worshiped Jesus as Lord with no sense that they were being inconsistent or denying their understanding of God as one (Philippians 2:6-11). they also accepted the indwelling Spirit as Lord (2 Cor. 3:17-18).

An altogether new understanding of the nature of God was beginning to emerge from disciples overwhelmed by the post-Easter revelation.

Writers of the New Testament looked again at their Scriptures and saw new meaning in the Old Testament writings. They identified Jesus Christ with the concepts of Wisdom and Word (John 1; 1 Corn 1:23-24). They stressed the interrelatedness of Father, Son and Spirit in the great word of salvation (2 Cor 1:21-22; 13:14; Matthew 28;19; John 14:26, 15:26, 1 Pt 1:2).