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- One of the most misunderstood teachings in the modern church is the doctrine of the Trinity.
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- Yet the Trinity is one of the most important and historically significant things that we believe as Christians.
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- It is what separates Orthodox Christianity from other monotheistic religions, and it also distinguishes between true Christian faith and many cult groups.
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- The first thing to remember about understanding the Trinity is that it is a profound truth with which there is no analogy.
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- You cannot compare the Trinity with anything else in nature.
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- Some have tried to make it similar to an egg, which has three parts, the yolk, the white, and the shell.
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- Others have tried to compare it to how an individual can be in three different relationships.
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- A man can be a father, a son, and a husband.
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- But all of these fail because they end up saying something about the Trinity which is not true.
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- It is best to remember that God is holy, which means that he is absolutely unique and therefore there is nothing in creation which is comparable to him.
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- Isaiah 46.9 God says, I am God and there is no other.
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- I am God and there is none like me.
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- So how do we define the Trinity if there are not perfect analogies in nature? There are three principles which the Bible teaches which need to be remembered.
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- One, there is only one God.
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- Two, there are three persons who are called God and have the characteristics of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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- These three persons interact with one another.
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- Therefore, they are not the same person.
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- Based on these biblical truths, we can define the Trinity as follows.
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- One, God is one in essence or being.
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- Two, God is three in person.
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- Three, these three persons are all co-equal, co-eternal, and distinct.
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- The key to understanding the heart of the doctrine is distinguishing between being and person.
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- A tree has being but not person.
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- A man has both being and person.
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- God has being and three persons share that one being.
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- The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all God and therefore should be worshipped as God.
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- This is why Christian worship has always been Trinitarian.
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- We worship one God in three persons, blessed Trinity.
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- We sing, Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.
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- Praise Him, all creatures here below.
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- Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts.
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- Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
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- Amen.
