Many times I have been asked about the divinity of Christ. It comes in many kinds of ways. For instance, some will say the "trinity" is not in the bible but a word created by the early church. Some will say Jesus was just a man. Some will say Jesus wasn't historical...etc etc.
Well, what does the Bible say?
Well, lets look at some bible verses from John..."In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." What are these verses saying? Or more importantly, what are they saying to you? I think the verses are clear.....The WORD, was with GOD "In the Beginning"...at creation. He was not only with God, but WAS God. And the WORD became flesh...he became a man. It's quite simple really. John was trying to explain to people the simple truth about Jesus...that he was God.
Here is another verse to look at from John chapter 17. "4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." What is this verse saying. Quite clearly Jesus is asking the Father to return his glory, the glory HE HAD BEFORE the world began. Do any of us have a glory that we gave up BEFORE creation? I don't think that we do. Again, John is trying to get us to understand the special relationship Jesus has with the Father. It's so special that we have a hard time understanding it.
Our inability to understand the relationship of the Father and Son has been around for a while. In fact, the early church had just as hard a time. That's why they began using the word "trinity". The word was used by the early church to "attempt" to describe what they saw in scripture. They knew there was ONLY ONE GOD. That is beyond question. But they had a problem. They knew the FATHER was God...and by what Jesus taught, they knew JESUS was God. At this point you have a problem...you have 2 GODS, which simply CANNOT be the case. In no way shape or form can anyone who believes the Bible's monotheistic approach to life accept that there can be TWO GODS. NO WAY. So, if the Father and the Son are both God...and are both one...and there is only ONE GOD....then in some way, The Father and the Son must share the same essence...in some way they must be the same GOD, but two different PEOPLE or PERSONS.
How can we understand this? Not sure we can, that's why the understanding of the Trinity relies more on defining what God is not than relying on what He is. God is not more than ONE GOD...God is not ONLY ONE PERSON. Etc Etc. How can we explain this? Well, we can't. God doesn't exactly allow himself to be put in a test tube. He is beyond anything we could possibly imagine. He really is beyond description, but HE IS. And JESUS IS.
One idea...Here is how I look at it. Kind of like a marriage, but deeper. When you have a husband and wife, you have TWO PEOPLE, but only ONE FAMILY. Where this breaks down is you have two individuals who usually fight with each other. BUT...if you could imagine two people who so immerse themselves in the other that there is perfect unity, perfect harmony, perfect togetherness...in such a way that they both maintain their individuality but both are virtually indistinguishable from each other in purpose, meaning, desire, goals, etc. You might ask then, what distinguishes them. Only one thing, the LOVE they have for each other. The Father LOVES the Son, with such a grand and mighty love that all of creation is an outpouring of that love. And the Son LOVES the Father so much, that he takes that gift of creation and gives His life for it. Creation is precious to the Son, because it was a gift from His Father, a love gift. As such, it has immense sentimental value. Jesus said once "I have not lost one of those you have given me". He is course was referring to his disciples, and by implication, us.
What happens when two people love each other? Family!!! The same is true of God. He created us because of the great love that existed in the Trinity...the same reason why parents have children. It's amazing how much like God we are. And God, in his love, has invited each and every one of us to be part of His Family...this is a great honor, an unparalleled invitation. We may not understand everything about God, but we can understand this one thing. God loves us and wants to adopt us into His Family. He has already paved the way for us, Jesus has already paid the price to keep us...all we need to do is accept the Father's love. When you understand his love, you might understand God a bit more.
Well, what does the Bible say?
Well, lets look at some bible verses from John..."In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." What are these verses saying? Or more importantly, what are they saying to you? I think the verses are clear.....The WORD, was with GOD "In the Beginning"...at creation. He was not only with God, but WAS God. And the WORD became flesh...he became a man. It's quite simple really. John was trying to explain to people the simple truth about Jesus...that he was God.
Here is another verse to look at from John chapter 17. "4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." What is this verse saying. Quite clearly Jesus is asking the Father to return his glory, the glory HE HAD BEFORE the world began. Do any of us have a glory that we gave up BEFORE creation? I don't think that we do. Again, John is trying to get us to understand the special relationship Jesus has with the Father. It's so special that we have a hard time understanding it.
Our inability to understand the relationship of the Father and Son has been around for a while. In fact, the early church had just as hard a time. That's why they began using the word "trinity". The word was used by the early church to "attempt" to describe what they saw in scripture. They knew there was ONLY ONE GOD. That is beyond question. But they had a problem. They knew the FATHER was God...and by what Jesus taught, they knew JESUS was God. At this point you have a problem...you have 2 GODS, which simply CANNOT be the case. In no way shape or form can anyone who believes the Bible's monotheistic approach to life accept that there can be TWO GODS. NO WAY. So, if the Father and the Son are both God...and are both one...and there is only ONE GOD....then in some way, The Father and the Son must share the same essence...in some way they must be the same GOD, but two different PEOPLE or PERSONS.
How can we understand this? Not sure we can, that's why the understanding of the Trinity relies more on defining what God is not than relying on what He is. God is not more than ONE GOD...God is not ONLY ONE PERSON. Etc Etc. How can we explain this? Well, we can't. God doesn't exactly allow himself to be put in a test tube. He is beyond anything we could possibly imagine. He really is beyond description, but HE IS. And JESUS IS.
One idea...Here is how I look at it. Kind of like a marriage, but deeper. When you have a husband and wife, you have TWO PEOPLE, but only ONE FAMILY. Where this breaks down is you have two individuals who usually fight with each other. BUT...if you could imagine two people who so immerse themselves in the other that there is perfect unity, perfect harmony, perfect togetherness...in such a way that they both maintain their individuality but both are virtually indistinguishable from each other in purpose, meaning, desire, goals, etc. You might ask then, what distinguishes them. Only one thing, the LOVE they have for each other. The Father LOVES the Son, with such a grand and mighty love that all of creation is an outpouring of that love. And the Son LOVES the Father so much, that he takes that gift of creation and gives His life for it. Creation is precious to the Son, because it was a gift from His Father, a love gift. As such, it has immense sentimental value. Jesus said once "I have not lost one of those you have given me". He is course was referring to his disciples, and by implication, us.
What happens when two people love each other? Family!!! The same is true of God. He created us because of the great love that existed in the Trinity...the same reason why parents have children. It's amazing how much like God we are. And God, in his love, has invited each and every one of us to be part of His Family...this is a great honor, an unparalleled invitation. We may not understand everything about God, but we can understand this one thing. God loves us and wants to adopt us into His Family. He has already paved the way for us, Jesus has already paid the price to keep us...all we need to do is accept the Father's love. When you understand his love, you might understand God a bit more.
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