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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Don’t Get Roped In



I’m one of those people who likes to debate. Ya’ know the type that most people don’t want to sit and have a head-to-head disagreement with because I love to let someone talk and allow them to hang themselves? Yeah, that’s me. I firmly believe that any argument formed from a stance of ignorance is easily defeated by using the very words of the one attempting to promote it!!
Recently I began reading an article and knew that within a few pages such ignorance would be revealed- I was not disappointed.
The watchtower published an article entitled, “Should You Believe in The Trinity?” From the beginning the ignorance was amazingly thick. Various quotes were cited by one intelligent person and then another. The brightest among us on both sides of the issue were used to show that belief in the Trinity was a central teaching of the Christian Church. Several times it was mentioned that the smartest of the human race cannot understand- and consequently- fully explain or teach the Trinity.
Let’s take a pause here. I was taught in school that the best and brightest among us once strongly believed that the earth was flat. Also there was a time when the most respected astronomers believed that the earth was the center of the entire universe. A little more recently the brightest scientists taught that if the human body move faster than fifty miles per hour the skin would peel off our faces. What’s that I just heard? Oh, another jet just routinely broke the sound barrier.
(Sorry I was distracted for a second)
 My point here is obvious: Human understanding or the lack thereof has no bearing whatsoever on the Truth. The Truth is the Truth weather we believe, doubt, fully grasp or remain clueless.
Back to the article: I continued reading waiting for some small nugget of “evidence” that the Trinity really should be in question. I was looking for a somewhat reasonable explanation as to why the Watchtower has taken a stance of unbelief where the Trinity is concerned. What I found was an even more blatant misuse scripture out of context.
The Watchtower claims that the Triune nature of God could not have been revealed by God Himself because

“Devine revelation itself does not allow for such a view of God”.
It then immediately quotes 1 Corinthians 14:33 “God is not a God of confusion” as support!
WOW!! Talk about taking a verse out of context. This verse has nothing to do with explaining the Trinity. In fact it deals with the topic of using our spiritual gifts. Reading the verses before it, starting at verse 26 clearly reveals that fact.
Nor does this verse say “If man is confused by it then it must not have come from God”. Are you kidding me? I am confused by almost everything God reveals to me.
1.       Can anyone explain creation?  Ya’ know, God reached into nothing and brought the entire universe to life?
2.      Who fully grasps the fact that God is eternal having no beginning or no end?
3.      Tell me, who in the Watchtower, Mormonism, Philosophy or Christendom can fully understand and explain how the universe expands forever without borders!
4.      How did God hang the earth on nothing, set it to spin and sustain its perfect distance from the sun?
5.      And someone please rationally, logically- with our great human minds- explain the parting of the Red Sea, I dare ya!
6.      Better yet, tell me how Christ spoke, “Lazarus, come forth!” and a dead man walked out of a tomb wrapped in burial garb.
Let’s push passed the ignorance shall we?
 Looking to finite human logic to understand and/or explain an infinite, eternal, all-powerful, all knowing and all-present God is just plain nonsense.

This poorly written article also stated, If the Trinity were true, it should be clearly and consistently presented in the Bible. Why? Because as the Apostles affirmed, the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. And since we need to know God to worship Him acceptably, the Bible should be clear in telling us just who He is”.
It also mentioned that the correct way to understand God is from the scriptures and even Jesus used the scriptures, often saying, “It is written…”, so very true. So let’s look at scriptures to see what God has to say about Himself!!
Let’s take a topical approach
Trinity in Creation:
“In the beginning God (Elohim) created the Heavens and the Earth”- Genesis 1:1. Biblical study reveals that each part of the Trinity played a part in creation.
God the Father is the one “from whom all things come” according to 1 Corinthians 8:6. He planned and decreed creation- Acts 17:24-26. He did “everything in conformity with the purpose of His will as stated in Ephesians 1:11
John 1:3 asserts that Jesus-God the Son’s role in creation was that “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that was made”. Colossians 1:6 affirms this: “All things were created by Him and for Him”.
The Holy Spirit “was hovering over the waters” according to Genesis 1:2. The Hebrew word for ‘hovering’ is important here because it gives a picture of an eagle hovering over its young in a supervising and protecting role. So the Holy Spirit was actively a part of creation, supervising it and ensuring its safe and secure development.
If there was only One Creator yet the Father, Son AND Holy Spirit were all a part of Creation then we can only conclude that all three of these personages are the Eternal Creator.
Biblical Evidence of the Trinity
The Father is called God- “of whom are all things” in 1 Corinthians 8:6 AND Jesus is called God- “by whom are all things” in that same verse.
The Son is called God- Hebrews 1:8 says, “But, of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your Kingdom”. Also Jesus Himself said He was God when He stated, “I and the Father are one”. The Greek word for the word ‘one’ used in this verse means “of the same essence and substance”. So despite what anyone may say it does not mean “one in purpose” only. If Christ wanted us to believe that He was not God He would have used a word that clearly showed a distinction between him and the Father but He didn’t.
Giving further support for the fact that Jesus claimed to be God- and therefore the same as the Father- we read in John 8: 58 & 59 That Jesus stated”…before Abraham was born, I AM” The Jews recognized that Jesus was claiming to be the same I AM we read of in the Old Testament. They picked up stones in order to stone Him for what they believed to be blasphemy. They recognized that Jesus Christ claimed to BE GOD!
The Holy Spirit is called God: In Acts 5: 3-4 Peter asked Ananias why he had lied to the Holy Spirit and continued on to say “…You have not lied to men but to God”. Peter fully recognized that lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God because they are one in the same.
The Biblical support for the trinity aka The Triune God goes on and on.
The message to us Bible-believing, Trinity-supporting Christians is simple. Do not Get Roped Into the sometimes well-worded, logical-sounding, seemingly-wise arguments of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (and Mormons). Study the Bible so well and to such a depth that when false teachings pop up, your mind refers back to scripture that shoots down the Devil’s mental and spiritual attacks found in their words. 

“I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You”- Psalm 119:11

Another way to say it is, "I have studied Your Word so deeply that I will not be roped into ignorance and Sin"

God Bless all my Trinity-believing Christians, stay Strong!!