The Trinity: Biblical Doctrine, or a Theological Construction?

[Rich R]

"It (the doctrine of the trinity) makes three affirmations: that there is but one God, that the Father and the Son and the Spirit is each God, and that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is each a distinct person...Though it is not a Biblical doctrine in the sense that any formulation of it can be found in the Bible, it can be seen to underlie the revelation of God…Although scripture does not give us a formulated doctrine of the trinity, it contains all the elements out of which theology has constructed the doctrine." ~ Illustrated Bible Dictionary ~

• Though not in the Bible, theology has constructed the trinity!
• Does that not bother Trinitarians? How could it not?

 

[GEN2REV]

The Trinity: Biblical Doctrine, or a Theological Construction?​

An extra-biblical construction.

 

[marks]

"It (the doctrine of the trinity) makes three affirmations: that there is but one God, that the Father and the Son and the Spirit is each God, and that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is each a distinct person...Though it is not a Biblical doctrine in the sense that any formulation of it can be found in the Bible, it can be seen to underlie the revelation of God…Although scripture does not give us a formulated doctrine of the trinity, it contains all the elements out of which theology has constructed the doctrine." ~ Illustrated Bible Dictionary ~

• Though not in the Bible, theology has constructed the trinity!
• Does that not bother Trinitarians? How could it not?

No, "constructed" is just a descriptive word. Maybe when you read that word, you mentally add "out of whole cloth" or something like that.

I agree with what this statement is saying. The Trinity is not a specific doctrine taught in the Bible, however, much in the Bible affirms that this is the right way to think of God.

"It can be seen to underlie the revelation of God", yes, I completely agree.

Much love!

 

[marks]

I'm curious, how many Anti-Trinity/Anti-Deity of Christ threads do we need at any given time? Just wondering . . .

Much love!

 

[Tommy Cool]

If you were the enemy and you wanted to detract people from the greatness of God…what would you promote…It is always a spiritual battle.

Exo 20:2 -5a
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God.

Eph 4:5 & 6
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

 

[Behold]

"It (the doctrine of the trinity) makes three affirmations

Rich R.

All "theology" is "Theological construction".

The real question is...... IS IT, created by the Holy Spirit, or is it created by someone's intellect or Psychosis.

The Holy Spirit creates Doctrine.
The Intellect creates Heresy.

Knowing the difference, ...knowing who is teaching you the truth, and who is teaching you a clever doctrine of devil's .......


How do you master that, READER. ?

1st you have to become a lifelong student of Paul's Doctrine.

2nd. You have to live in this verse.... Hebrews 13:9

And from there you master these verses...... Romans 3:21-28

4.) Find out of your teacher, preacher, Pope, or similar believes they can lose their Salvation... = Never ever listen to someone teach who believes they can lose their Salvation, as this person knows nothing about the Cross or the Blood Atonement, or the Grace of God, or SALVATION.

 

[Rich R]

Rich R.

All "theology" is "Theological construction".

The real question is...... IS IT, created by the Holy Spirit, or is it created by someone's intellect or Psychosis.

The Holy Spirit creates Doctrine.
The Intellect creates Heresy.

Knowing the difference, ...knowing who is teaching you the truth, and who is teaching you a clever doctrine of devil's .......


How do you master that, READER. ?

1st you have to become a lifelong student of Paul's Doctrine.

2nd. You have to live in this verse.... Hebrews 13:9

And from there you master these verses...... Romans 3:21-28

4.) Find out of your teacher, preacher, Pope, or similar believes they can lose their Salvation... = Never ever listen to someone teach who believes they can lose their Salvation, as this person knows nothing about the Cross or the Blood Atonement, or the Grace of God, or SALVATION.

Well said. If there is any "doctrine" that fits Heb 13:9 it would be, "there is a God the Father, there is a God the Son, and there is a God the Holy Spirit. But these are not 3 Gods but 1 God." What???? A strange doctrine indeed!

 

[Rich R]

If you were the enemy and you wanted to detract people from the greatness of God…what would you promote…It is always a spiritual battle.

Exo 20:2 -5a
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God.

Eph 4:5 & 6
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

No theology there. Solo Scripture, ala M. Luther

 

[Behold]

Well said. If there is any "doctrine" that fits Heb 13:9 it would be, "there is a God the Father, there is a God the Son, and there is a God the Holy Spirit. But these are not 3 Gods but 1 God." What???? A strange doctrine indeed!

Christianity is not a situation that can be intellectually understood.
God did not design it to be understood by the intellect.
God said that its by the FOOLISHNESS of PREACHING that He saves a person.
God is not interested in your mind.
He's only interested in your FAITH., as without faith, you can not please God.
So, there go your works, and your "trying to be like Christ'.

The Trinity can be be argued by the intellect, but can only be understood by the eyes of faith.

I can lay out a perfect case for the Trinity,

I can show you where God said His name is "I Am", and then i can show you the night when Jesus was betrayed, and the Romans came to the Garden looking for Him and wanted to know where Jesus was, and Jesus's answer was..."I AM"... and the soldiers fell to the ground.

So, i can understand this, because i know who "I AM" is... , but, not by the intellect.......is it understood.
Jesus is God manifested in the Flesh.
This has to be BELIEVED, exactly as the Bible has to be BELIEVED.

"well, i just can't see it"........some will say.
And you never will, until you stop trying to find a reason not to believe it., as that is the issue.
See, the word of God is clear to the born again spirit, but its a fog and a utter darkness to the heart of unbelief and the carnal mind.

 

[Rich R]

Christianity is not a situation that can be intellectually understood.
God did not design it to be understood by the intellect.
God said that its by the FOOLISHNESS of PREACHING that He saves a person.
God is not interested in your mind.
He's only interested in your FAITH., as without faith, you can not please God.
So, there go your works, and your "trying to be like Christ'.

The Trinity can be be argued by the intellect, but can only be understood by the eyes of faith.

I can lay out a perfect case for the Trinity,

I can show you where God said His name is "I Am", and then i can show you the night when Jesus was betrayed, and the Romans came to the Garden looking for Him and wanted to know where Jesus was, and Jesus's answer was..."I AM"... and the soldiers fell to the ground.

So, i can understand this, because i know who "I AM" is... , but, not by the intellect.......is it understood.
Jesus is God manifested in the Flesh.
This has to be BELIEVED, exactly as the Bible has to be BELIEVED.

"well, i just can't see it"........some will say.
And you never will, until you stop trying to find a reason not to believe it., as that is the issue.
See, the word of God is clear to the born again spirit, but its a fog and a utter darkness to the heart of unbelief and the carnal mind.

I understand what you are saying, having been of the same mind myself for many years. I still agree with you on the natural man can't receive the things of God. That much is clear in 1 Cor 2:14.

However I don't see that section of scripture as saying anything other than with God's spirit residing withing we can know Him and know Him very well. The scriptures say Jesus knew God in his mind and we, having that mind, are not required to take any thing by "blind" (something that can't be "understood") faith. If there was a trinity certainly Jesus would know all about it and so would we. To say we can't understand the trinity is to say Jesus can't understand it.

But we shouldn't take one verse and build a doctrine on it. In this case one merely need look at the context, i.e., 1 Cor 2:9-16.

Anyway, I do enjoy an intimate relationship with my heavenly Father and He holds nothing back from me so that I can know how wonderful He is. Do see those verses in a different way?

 

[Bob Estey]

"It (the doctrine of the trinity) makes three affirmations: that there is but one God, that the Father and the Son and the Spirit is each God, and that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is each a distinct person...Though it is not a Biblical doctrine in the sense that any formulation of it can be found in the Bible, it can be seen to underlie the revelation of God…Although scripture does not give us a formulated doctrine of the trinity, it contains all the elements out of which theology has constructed the doctrine." ~ Illustrated Bible Dictionary ~

• Though not in the Bible, theology has constructed the trinity!
• Does that not bother Trinitarians? How could it not?

I believe God is simultaneously a Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as my dad was simultaneously a father, husband, wife, lawyer, etc. Because I believe this, some Trinitarians think of me as a lower life form. They even have a name for me: modalist. But I still think there is just one God.

 

[Rich R]

I believe God is simultaneously a Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as my dad was simultaneously a father, husband, wife, lawyer, etc. Because I believe this, some Trinitarians think of me as a lower life form. They even have a name for me: modalist. But I still think there is just one God.

Welcome to Lower Lifeville! I know how you feel.

Seriously, I think that anybody that confesses Jesus as their Lord and believes God raised him from the dead (Rom 10:9-10) is a son of God and is as far from being a lower life form as the black is white.