God is one

Today's Teachings GOD IS ONE IN TRINITY Text: Deuteronomy 6:4. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and when the Jew recited this particular verse, he did it in the same Hebrew language as still done today. Our English language cannot translate in one sentence precisely what Deuteronomy 6:4 means. This verse means more than "The Lord our God is one Lord" being a simple statement that there is no other God but the Lord. This can be also translated as " The lord is our God, the Lord is one," here it means He is not only one but He who is the only one, is one. The doctrine of one God in Trinity can only be found in the religion of Christianity alone throughout the whole world. It is by this doctrine that Christian faith can be distinguished from other faith. Though the word Trinity can't be found in the Bible but the teachings can be well drawn concerning the unity of God in three distinct and ordered essence. This distinguished doctrine of faith can be well summarized upon by the words of Athanasius in his Athanasian Creed ( AD 295 - 373), when he wrote, "We worship one God in Trinity and Triune in unity, neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance." By this Athanasius supported the doctrine of the existence of one God in three distinct persons, by a prove of absolute and eternal essence subsisting in three ordered persons without division, without replication of the essence and distinct in nature. Louis Berkhof puts it that " God is one in His essential being or constitutional nature," which means that God cannot be divided or split up, you can not have a collection of pieces which are less than God put them together and have God. God is not a human being made up of many organs, by this meaning you can't add eternity, unchangeableness, all power and holiness together and make up God. God is not made up of parts. The mystery of the Trinity is that their divine essence has no existence outside of and apart from the persons, thus the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have a nature that they can enter into personal relations like speaking to each other, this is also called Ontological relationship (Psalm 2:1, Acts 4:1-5, Col. 1:15). This is a relation that subsists between the members of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The members describe who God is without which He ceases to be God. By this the son is necessary to God and the Spirit is necessary to God. Also called the Inter Trinitarian relationship of the Trinity which has another arm called the Economical Relationship that deals with style in which God has chosen to relate to us (Eph. 1:1 -14, John 17:1, Rom. 1:4, John 14:17-19). This doctrine of the Trinity was denied by the Socianians in the days of the Reformation and is also rejected by the Unitarians and Modernists of our day, this they do not speak of the Trinity at all, but represent it as consisting of Father, the Man Jesus and a divine influence which is called the Holy Spirit. It is from this doctrine by the Socianists, Unitarians and Modernists that the cults and today's "Christians" have derived their faith and believe on the point of divine influence of the "holy spirit". This is a big error that has ever been fought by the Reformers since then, it has yielded its roots deep in the church and even robbed the church its government and commission in reaching out the lost with the gospel. By this we have erroneously invited people in "our churches" today by seekers friendly movements and technics not necessarily opening our congregation to the truth contained in the Scriptures but instead to the errors we have gone through. This has really killed the growth in knowledge and grace that is ascribed to us through sharing of the word of God instead sharing motivational talks and orchestras accompanied with a whole confusion of miracles and signs on the pulpit just to entertain and motivate our congregation to come again and attend our next Sunday service. God forbid on these and create in us that trembling fear of worship when we come before Him. To this note I will take some time to explain God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in their special characteristics and work ascribed to each in a unified manner in my next week lesson about the Trinity. God bless you

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