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Genesis 1:26 "God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness."
Genesis 3:22 "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil."
Genesis 11:7 "Come, let Us go down, and there confuse their language"
Isaiah 6:8 "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"
Some have suggested they are plurals of Majesty, a form of speach a king would use in saying, for example, "We are pleased to grant your request." However , in Old Testament Hebrew there are no other examples of a monarch using plural verbs or plural pronouns of himself in such a "plural of majesty", so this suggestion has no evidence to support it. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology.
Psalm 45:6-7 "Your throne, O God is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has annointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."
Here the psalm passes beyond describing anything that could be true of an earthly king and calls the king "God" (v. 6) whose throne will last "forever and ever." . But then, still speaking to the person called "God", the author says that "God, your God, has set you above your companions", (v. 7) So two separate persons are called "God" (Heb. Elohim). In the New Testament , the author of Hebrews quotes this passage and applies it to Christ: "Your throne, O God , is forever and ever" (Heb. 1:8) W.G.
Psalm 110:1 " The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."
Jesus rightly understands that David is referring to two seperate persons as "Lord" (Matt.22:41-46), but who is David's "Lord" if not God Himself? And who would be saying to God, "Sit at my right hand" except someone else who is also fully God? It seems clear that David was aware of a purality of persons in one God. Jesus, of course, understood this, but when He asked the Pharisees for an explanation of this passage, "no one was able to answer Him a word,...."(Matt. 22:46). Unless they are willing to admit a plurality of persons in one God, Jewish interpreters of Scripture to this day will have no more satisfactory explanation of Psalm 110:1 (or of Gen, 1:26, or of the other passages just discussed) than they did in Jesus day. W.G.
Isaiah 63:10 says that God's people "rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit" apparently suggesting both that the Holy Spirit is distinct from God God Himself (it is "His Holy Spirit"), and that this Holy Spirit can be "grieved, thus suggesting emotional capabilities characteristic of a distinct person. W.G.
Malachi 3:1-2 "And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
Here again the one speaking ("the LORD of hosts") distinguishes himself from "the Lord whom you seek," suggesting two seperate persons, both of whom can be called "Lord."
In Hosea 1:7 "But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God," once again suggesting that more than one person can be called "Lord" (Heb. Yahweh) and "God" (Elohim). W.G.
Isaiah 48:16 "Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, and from the time it came to be I have been there." And now the Lord GOD has sent me and His Spirit."
Here the Spirit of the Lord, like the servant of the Lord (Is.49:1-6) , has been "sent" by the Lord GOD on a particular mission. The parallel between the two objects of sending ("me" and "his Spirit") would be consistent with seeing them both as distinct persons. In fact, from a full New Testament perspective (which recognizes Jesus the Messiah to be the true servant of the Lord predicted in Isaiah's prophecies), Isaiah 48:16 has trinitarian implications: "And now the Lord God has sent me and His Spirit," if spoken by Jesus the Son of God, refers to all three persons of the Trinity. W.G.
That is just a sample from the Old Testament expounded by Wayne Grudem in his book "Systematic Theology". I could go into many more verses showing the divinity of Jesus, but this small study is on the Trnity, not the deity of Christ..
Trinity in the New Testament:
Matt.3:16-17 "And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold,the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
Here at one moment we have three members of the Trinity performing three distinct activities. God the Father is speaking from heaven; God the Son is being baptized and is then spoken to from heaven by God the Father; and God the Holy Spirit is descending from heaven to rest upon and empower Jesus for His ministry. W.G.
Matt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"
The very names "Father" and "Son", drawn as they are from the family, the most familiar of human institutions, indicate very strongly the distinct personhood of both the Father and the Son. When "the Holy Spirit" is put in the same expression and on the same level as the other two persons, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the Holy Spirit is also viewed as a person and of equal standing with the Father and the Son. W.G.
1 Corinthians 12: 4-6 "Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; anf there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone."
When we realize that the New Testament authors generally usae the name "God" (Gk. theos) to refer to God the Father and the name "Lord" (Gk. kyrios) to refer to God the Son, then it is clear that there is another trinitarian expression in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. W.G.
2 Corinthians 13:14 " The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God anf the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
Similarly, the last verse of 2 Corinthians is trinitarian in it's expression. W.G.
Ephesians 4:4-6 "There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call- one Lord, one faith,one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
We see the three prsons mentiond separately here. W.G.
1 Peter 1:2 "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood"
All three persons of the Trinity are mentioned together in the opening sentence of 1 Peter. W.G.
Jude 20-21 "But you beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."
The text in blue are quotations from Wayne Grudem from his book "Systematic Theology". I used his words because he explains it more clearly than I ever could.
Even though I don't agree with everything in Mr. Grudem's book, he has much solid teaching on many biblical subjects and is ver much worth reading. I have only covered a small portion of his treatise on the Trinity and encourage others here to read His full work on this subject.
God bless.
Tom
Genesis 3:22 "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil."
Genesis 11:7 "Come, let Us go down, and there confuse their language"
Isaiah 6:8 "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"
Some have suggested they are plurals of Majesty, a form of speach a king would use in saying, for example, "We are pleased to grant your request." However , in Old Testament Hebrew there are no other examples of a monarch using plural verbs or plural pronouns of himself in such a "plural of majesty", so this suggestion has no evidence to support it. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology.
Psalm 45:6-7 "Your throne, O God is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has annointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."
Here the psalm passes beyond describing anything that could be true of an earthly king and calls the king "God" (v. 6) whose throne will last "forever and ever." . But then, still speaking to the person called "God", the author says that "God, your God, has set you above your companions", (v. 7) So two separate persons are called "God" (Heb. Elohim). In the New Testament , the author of Hebrews quotes this passage and applies it to Christ: "Your throne, O God , is forever and ever" (Heb. 1:8) W.G.
Psalm 110:1 " The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."
Jesus rightly understands that David is referring to two seperate persons as "Lord" (Matt.22:41-46), but who is David's "Lord" if not God Himself? And who would be saying to God, "Sit at my right hand" except someone else who is also fully God? It seems clear that David was aware of a purality of persons in one God. Jesus, of course, understood this, but when He asked the Pharisees for an explanation of this passage, "no one was able to answer Him a word,...."(Matt. 22:46). Unless they are willing to admit a plurality of persons in one God, Jewish interpreters of Scripture to this day will have no more satisfactory explanation of Psalm 110:1 (or of Gen, 1:26, or of the other passages just discussed) than they did in Jesus day. W.G.
Isaiah 63:10 says that God's people "rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit" apparently suggesting both that the Holy Spirit is distinct from God God Himself (it is "His Holy Spirit"), and that this Holy Spirit can be "grieved, thus suggesting emotional capabilities characteristic of a distinct person. W.G.
Malachi 3:1-2 "And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
Here again the one speaking ("the LORD of hosts") distinguishes himself from "the Lord whom you seek," suggesting two seperate persons, both of whom can be called "Lord."
In Hosea 1:7 "But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God," once again suggesting that more than one person can be called "Lord" (Heb. Yahweh) and "God" (Elohim). W.G.
Isaiah 48:16 "Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, and from the time it came to be I have been there." And now the Lord GOD has sent me and His Spirit."
Here the Spirit of the Lord, like the servant of the Lord (Is.49:1-6) , has been "sent" by the Lord GOD on a particular mission. The parallel between the two objects of sending ("me" and "his Spirit") would be consistent with seeing them both as distinct persons. In fact, from a full New Testament perspective (which recognizes Jesus the Messiah to be the true servant of the Lord predicted in Isaiah's prophecies), Isaiah 48:16 has trinitarian implications: "And now the Lord God has sent me and His Spirit," if spoken by Jesus the Son of God, refers to all three persons of the Trinity. W.G.
That is just a sample from the Old Testament expounded by Wayne Grudem in his book "Systematic Theology". I could go into many more verses showing the divinity of Jesus, but this small study is on the Trnity, not the deity of Christ..
Trinity in the New Testament:
Matt.3:16-17 "And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold,the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
Here at one moment we have three members of the Trinity performing three distinct activities. God the Father is speaking from heaven; God the Son is being baptized and is then spoken to from heaven by God the Father; and God the Holy Spirit is descending from heaven to rest upon and empower Jesus for His ministry. W.G.
Matt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"
The very names "Father" and "Son", drawn as they are from the family, the most familiar of human institutions, indicate very strongly the distinct personhood of both the Father and the Son. When "the Holy Spirit" is put in the same expression and on the same level as the other two persons, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the Holy Spirit is also viewed as a person and of equal standing with the Father and the Son. W.G.
1 Corinthians 12: 4-6 "Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; anf there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone."
When we realize that the New Testament authors generally usae the name "God" (Gk. theos) to refer to God the Father and the name "Lord" (Gk. kyrios) to refer to God the Son, then it is clear that there is another trinitarian expression in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. W.G.
2 Corinthians 13:14 " The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God anf the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
Similarly, the last verse of 2 Corinthians is trinitarian in it's expression. W.G.
Ephesians 4:4-6 "There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call- one Lord, one faith,one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
We see the three prsons mentiond separately here. W.G.
1 Peter 1:2 "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood"
All three persons of the Trinity are mentioned together in the opening sentence of 1 Peter. W.G.
Jude 20-21 "But you beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."
The text in blue are quotations from Wayne Grudem from his book "Systematic Theology". I used his words because he explains it more clearly than I ever could.
Even though I don't agree with everything in Mr. Grudem's book, he has much solid teaching on many biblical subjects and is ver much worth reading. I have only covered a small portion of his treatise on the Trinity and encourage others here to read His full work on this subject.
God bless.
Tom
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