12:28; Rom. Reaching students and faculty in middle and high school. The idea that God is somehow three and one starts onPage 1and never changes. They include: Now you have a basic understanding of the Trinity. How is God one? It is crucial for properly understanding what God is like, how He relates to us, and how we should relate to Him. Admittedly, the idea of three distinct persons/expressions that are each fully God is part of the mystery. Second, we have the son of God, Jesus. Just like anything else, some kids have to work hard for what comes easily to, Read More 15 Powerful Self Esteem Activities for Kids to Do at Home and in SchoolContinue. Partnering with urban churches to meet physical and spiritual needs. . Why, if they are ALL God? The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. Whats a Mama to say when the questions start flowing? 2:5), The Father is not the Spirit (John 14:26; John 15:26), The Son is not the Spirit (Matt. The wordtrinitymeans tri-unity or three-in-oneness.. Binmin Podcast 8: God & Origins | What Questions Should I Ask About My Faith, Binmin Podcast Ep. 2:11), speaks (Mark 13:11), testifies (Acts 20:23), reveals (1 Cor. Every time the wordElohim(plural) is used throughout the Old Testament referring to the one, true God, it is used with a singular conjugation of the verb. That leaves us with the modern definition of the word mystery. Of course, if the triangle illustration were perfect, we would be able to comprehend God fully, but we cant. Then share them with another Christian or genuine seeker. One of the reasons Jonathan Edwards's vision of God has proved so helpful in my worship and ministry is that he does, and he doesn't, "explain" the Trinity. Christianity is a monotheistic religion. Each person of the Trinity is equally and fully God, distinct from the others, and yet they remain just one God. Understanding who the Holy Spirit is, the place He holds within the Holy Trinity and the role He plays in individual lives is vital to anyone exploring what it means to become a Christian and anyone trying to follow Jesus. Therefore, it is often difficult to have a concrete definition of Person as we use it in regards to the Trinity. It has been said, Try to explain the trinity and lose your mind, try to explain away the trinity and lose your soul. We Reflect God's Personhood and Relations. Neither should we think of the Persons as being defined by attributes added on to the being of God. 4:30), and a will (1 Cor. 4:15), dying for our sins (1 Cor. 4:47), In Hebrews (Heb. Learn why He did it and what it means for you. Its not unusual for teenagers to give Jesus a bunch of loving characteristics and then put words like justice and vengeance on God the Fathers poster. This can only be if they share one essence. Amen. I work hard to produce evidence-based information about school for both teachers and parents, and to produce and share resources that can help at home and in the classroom. Use Objects As Visual Aids. They are not merely modes or manifestations of the same person (as Oneness theology incorrectly asserts) who sometimes acts as Father, sometimes as Son, and sometimes as Spirit. 15:19), God is called Father (John 17:1; John 3; 20:17; 1 Cor. 42. 4. Thats why they wrote words like we find inJob 11:7-8, "Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? The Hebrew word for God isElohim. AboutPressCopyrightContact. There are two other major monotheistic world religions namely Judaism and Islam. While it is good for us to seek understanding of the Trinity, we cannot fully comprehend God. 11:3336). Anytime you see a geometric figure with these features, it is a triangle. These definitions express three crucial truths: (1) The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, (2) each Person is fully God, (3) there is only one God. 1:12). If you are a Christian, why not memorize some of this blogs verses? How can we pack more meaning and deeper, Read More Holy Week for Kids: How to Teach Beyond Easter SundayContinue, Not every child is born with tons of self esteem. The word Trinity does not appear even once in the Bible. Engage Children in learning The Holy Trinity through Reading, Writing, Playing, Creating, Singing!Included in this resource:Bible Lesson Book-Teacher Edition: Read Aloud!Full sized, colorful large print . 2:11), emotions (Eph. We believe God is one in essence. How do they relate? But it is possible to go deeper. It is the unity of the Father, Son, and Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. They are personal forms of existence other than a difference in being. Need help teaching your kids about communion, either at Sunday School or home? While admitting the lack of conformity among believers, we must never consider it a minor issue of doctrine. He was "begotten, not made," and he was of the same substance or essence ( homoousios) as the Father. The all powerful one who lives up in Heaven and either judges us mercilessly or loves us endlessly, depending on who you ask. Because humankind is limited, God will always exceed our knowledge and understanding (Isa. Being Gods child, we can worship the Father and Jesus through the Spirit (John 4:2324; Phil. Each corner is distinct (i.e., different) from the others. In all transparency, I feel like I did a pretty mediocre job of explaining the Trinity to them in a way they could grasp. Take the next step in your faith journey with resources on prayer, devotionals and other tools for personal and spiritual growth. Perfect for the Bible newbie or the long-time Bible reader. Answer. Ask the teenager this question: Where does this fall short? The Trinity expresses the belief that God is one being made up of three distinct persons who exist in co-equal essence and co-eternal communion as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit . The Son is the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. Gods essence is His being. While this is in my mind the simplest, clearest explanation, I understand that even this breaks down when we go further and say I am a human and I am Keith Ferrin. The Holy Spirit is God, but He is not the Son or the Father. The Bible reveals that God isone, in essence, eternally revealed inthree Persons. know that I recognise only one God. But analogies cannot entirely explain the mystery of God. Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion about the Trinity. Among the three persons of the Trinity, there is a proper order: The Father is the First Person of the Most Holy Trinity. Just as ONE egg has THREE different parts - the shell, the white, the yoke - ONE God has THREE different . After all, as I have said many times (to myself as much as others! We cannot compete, in simplicity, with people who are inventing religions. And God created humankind to share that love (John 17:2126; Acts 17:25). 12:32; 28:19; Luke 3:22), There is one God and three Gods (a contradiction), God is one person and three persons (a contradiction), God has one nature and three natures (a contradiction), There is a functional order within the Trinity, Bowman, R Jr. The Biblical Basis of the Doctrine of the Trinity. Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/bowman_robert/trinity/trinity.cfm#trin_1 Accessed: 1/20/2022. In his second letter to the Corinthians, he bids farewell to them: "May the grace of the Lord Jesus, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the So God is one what but three whos.. 2:8-9), we can become Gods children. There was never a time when one of the Persons of the Godhead did not exist. Monotheism is foundational to Christianity. Explaining the Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit will be needed at some point when presenting the God of the Bible to children, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and other non-Christians. In his bookMere Christianity, C. S. Lewis points out an important distinction. The late theologian Herman Bavinck has stated something very helpful at this point: The persons are modes of existence within the being; accordingly, the Persons differ among themselves as the one mode of existence differs from the other, and using a common illustration as the open palm differs from a closed fist.[4], Because each of these forms of existence are relational (and thus are Persons), they are each a distinct center of consciousness, with each center of consciousness regarding Himself as I and the others as You. Nonetheless, these three Persons all consist of the same stuff (that is, the same what, or essence). Jesus is God, but He is not the Father or the Holy Spirit. It's a great reminder of the three parts of the Holy Trinity! We exist to worship God. Object Lessons on the Trinity for a Child or New Believer, The Difference Between Teaching the Trinity to a Child vs. a Teenager, Books that Explain the Trinity to a Child, Navigating Girl Drama: 20 Ways Schools and Parents Can Help Calm the Storm, Is It Normal that My 4 Year Old Can Read? Get the answers to frequently asked questions on Christian beliefs and practices. How do we come to terms with these different ideas of God? To help us do that, here are two reasons why the Trinity matters. Thus, they relate to each other personally the Father regards Himself as I, while He regards the Son and Holy Spirit as You. Likewise the Son regards Himself as I, but the Father and the Holy Spirit as You.. Think about it: Finite Christians serve an eternal and infinite God. (Ohand I'll send you my free guideThe Simplest Way to Study ANY Bible Passageas a "Thank you" for jumping on board!). There would only be a contradiction if we said that God is three in the same way that He is one. If each Person of the Trinity is distinct and yet fully God, then should we conclude that there is more than one God? And interesting they are listed under a single name. This refers to Gods single essence. You can describe the Trinity in different ways: The wordspersonsandessencerefer to entirely different features relating to God. The Trinity is Christianity's most unique, defining, incomprehensible, and awesome mystery. As Christians, we derive our concept of person from the relations in the Trinity. Rather than let that frustrate you, let it encourage you. He is also referred to in third-person singular pronouns (John 14:26), He engages in actions only a person can do: He searches (1 Cor. Whether an object is a rock or a triangle, we can classify it based on its objective characteristics. You can't explain the Trinity to anyone who reasons because: 1) The Bible does not support it. However, these illustrations arent perfect, and really mature kids or teenagers (or adult new believers) could handle digging a bit deeper! Thats what faith is being content with our own confusion while still knowing that God is bigger than we can comprehend. "After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him.". 5:10), Requested prayer in his name (John 14:1314) and to be honored as God (John 5:23), Begetting the human nature of Christ at the incarnation (Luke 1:35), Inspiring Scripture (2 Tim. God is spirit (John 4:24). 6:2122), Resuscitation of the dead (1 Kings 17:1724; 2 Kings 4:1837), The resurrection of Jesus (Acts 4:10; Acts 10:40), Sustains the universe (Col. 1:17; Heb. He is an extension of the sun and brings the sun directly to the world. We cannot entirelycomprehendan infinite God and these mysteries (Rom. I might end with sharing a few analogies from nature. I'm an author, speaker, husband, father and ice cream lover. 2:10), convinces (John 6:44), teaches (Luke 12:12), convicts (John 16:18), commands (Acts 1:2), moves (John 11:33), helps (Rom. What we do not mean by Person is an independent individual in the sense that both I and another human are separate, independent individuals who can exist apart from one another. Reflecting Jesus together for the good of the city. This law states that A cannot be both A (what it is) and non-A (what it is not) at the same time and in the same relationship. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all fully God. In fact, kids who have been in church for many years will probably have already heard one of these illustrations. Is God the same as Jesus? also 1:18). If you are teaching young children, these object lessons are both the perfect starting and stopping point. This triune God (or Trinity) began to allude to this aspect of His nature right in Genesis 1:26-27. However,barais the singular conjugation of the verb. The Father sent Jesus into the world (John 3:16; Gal. Its okay for them to have a very limited understanding of God. The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity does not divide God into three parts. 3:16; 2 Pet. The Trinity was present in the atonement at the cross. God is the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. Equipping families with practical approaches to parenting and marriage. Bringing hope and resources to military families worldwide. This analogy ignores the personal distinctions within God and mitigates them to mere roles. 31:3; John 3:16; 1 John 4:8), Righteous (Ps. With input from her father, fart followed within a day or two, and I was horrified, but also excited that she mysteriously managed an r-controlled vowel without any explicit instruction. In other words, you have contradicted yourself if you affirm and deny the same statement. ). According to the American Heritage Dictionary the word