Trinity And Unity

bentelkenesia

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My beloved sisters & brothers in Christ
Let Us take a look on these questions that we face
every time! and what do u think ?
1. How can you prove that Christians believe only in one God and not in three?Give references from the Bible!
2. How can you explain the oneness of the Holy Trinity?
3. What is the meaning of the greek word "Logos" and
why can it be applied to God?
4. How is the sonship of Christ understood in relationship to God the Father?
5. What is the difference between the heathen trinity and the Christian Trinity?
6. What is the Christian answer to the heresies of Arius and other philosophers?

Unknown

bentelkenesia,

I will make my replies brief, for the sake of simplicity - please know that i can elaborate on my answers at any length that may be recquired, thus if there is any issue you want me to clarify, or expand on with more depth and detail, then please ask.

1.   How can you prove that Christians believe only in one God and not in three?Give references from the Bible!

The Bible clearly affirms that God is one:

Mark 12:29 "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord"

Mark 12:32 "And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he"

Romans 3:30 "since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith."

1 Corinthians 8:6 "yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all."

2.   How can you explain the oneness of the Holy Trinity?

God’s oneness refers to His being, essence or nature.

3.   What is the meaning of the greek word "Logos" and
why can it be applied to God?

The Logos can generally refer to inner thought, hence 'reason', even 'science'” or even outward expression, hence 'speech' or 'message', which is why 'Word' is still thought the most appropriate term, provided it doesnt narrowly refer to a mere linguistic sign but is understood to mean something like 'message’.

John 1:1 tells us that though The Word is distinct from God, it is also God in the sense it is an essential aspect of God’s being. When we say the Word is God, we are simply saying that the Word possesses the very nature or essence of God Himself.

4.   How is the sonship of Christ understood in relationship to God the Father?

The Father is the Father of The Son, in the sense that He is the progenitor of The Son, who has begotten The Son before all times. The Father is to Son, what the Mind is to thought. We could say that the mind is the “Father of thought” in the sense it generates thoughts. Likewise, Christ being The Word of God – His reason/message/knowledge finds His origin in The Father, and is eternally generated from God the Father.

Christ’s Sonship can also be explained by His attributes – just like a Son, He is obedient to the Father (John 8:29, Phil 2:8), acts upon the Fathers command (John 14:31), he imitates and does everything the Father does (John 5:19), is honored in the same manner as His Father (John 5:23), and most importantly, they share mutual love as between Father and Son (John 17:23-34)

5.   What is the difference between the heathen trinity and the Christian Trinity?

The Christian Trinity which is defined as One God existent in three persons, is unparalleled in any other religious belief system. There is no comparison at all to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, it stands unique in the religious world.

6.   What is the Christian answer to the heresies of Arius and other philosophers?

The Christian answer, is simply that their doctrines are not based on Biblical revelation, but rather philosophical presuppositions. Arius was heavily influenced by platonic philosophy, that he developed a doctrine where God had to create some semi-divine agent to interact wioth the imperfect creation. Hence he identified The Word as this created semi-divine agent to solve his own philosophical problems, rather than allowing the Bible to speak for itself, for as it is clearly written, The Word was eternal, existing before the beggining, possessing the same nature of God i.e. fully divine rather than semi-divine.