Question:  Dear Greg,

            I have been reading your answers to questions regarding the Trinity and I would appreciate it if you could give me your conclusions on a couple of questions I would like answers to:

1.      Why for thousands of years did none of God’s prophets teach their people about the Trinity?

2.      Why would Jesus not make himself clear as to being a part of a Trinity?  He always said he was the Son of God and that his Father was greater than he was.

3.      Since when has a Spirit been a person?  A spirit is not made of flesh.

You have stated in one of your answers that the Persons of the “triune” God are equal.  That is not true according to Philippians 2:5-6.  Your attitude should be the same as Christ, who being in very nature God (means like God in nature) DID NOT CONSIDER EQUALITY WITH GOD something he grasped—he made himself nothing.

            Colossians 1:15 says, “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”  How can Jesus be the image of himself?

            Hebrews 2:9, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than angels, now crowned with glory and honor.”  Why would God create part of himself a little lower than angels?

            There are many more illustrations in the Bible that actually deny the Trinity, but in conclusion I must state that Jesus always said he was the Son of God.

            Finally, Jesus said he had a beginning.  He was the firstborn of creation.  God did not have a beginning.  God gave Jesus authority to hold the keys of death.  God did not die--his Son died.  God must be superior to Jesus because he gave authority to him—only a person of a higher echelon can give authority.  Therefore they are not equal.

            Joan

Answer:  Dear Joan,

1.      The fact that God has chosen to reveal himself at one time in history, when in fact he did not before (such as the incarnation of the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ) does not diminish or invalidate the revelation—such as, for example, our Lord and Savior.

2.      Jesus said he was God—many times.  The son of a father is the same genus, the same essence as his father.  It was because Jesus claimed to be God (and for breaking the Sabbath) that the Jews sought to kill him (John 5:16 ).

3.      The Holy Spirit has been a divine Person from eternity.  The word “person” when used in conjunction with divinity is obviously not in reference to a human, subject to time and space and corruption, but of a separate divine personality.  Of course spirit is not made of flesh.

4.      The three divine Persons of the Triune God are separate, yet equal, and co- essential (they are all God).  According to the words of Jesus, they are Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).  The book of Acts tells us that the Holy Spirit directs, speaks, and teaches (see 8:29 , 10:19 , 11:12 , 13:2, 20:23 , 21:11 ).  That means personality—more than a force like electricity.

5.      Yes, Philippians 2 says that Jesus was very God—but did not consider his equality with the Father and the Spirit as something that prevented him from voluntarily veiling his divinity in order that he might be Emmanuel--God with us--to save us.

6.      Jesus, in the flesh, is and was the image of God in the sense that he came to reveal the Father.  If you have seen me, he said, you have seen the Father.  I and my Father are one.

7.      The man, Jesus, became a little lower than the angels in his humility.  He never stopped being God, for by definition, God is eternal.  Why did he become a little lower (i.e., human) than the angels?  Because of his love for you and me.

8.      There are no illustrations in the Bible that deny the Trinity.  We answer all such questions here (they are posted) and there are no illustrations, no teachings—nothing--that denies the Trinity.

9.      Of course Jesus is the Son of God.  This does not deny the Trinity.

          10.  Being firstborn speaks of the resurrection from the dead—not of Jesus’ eternity past or eternity future.

          11.  Of course God did not die—the man Jesus died.  See John 2:18-22.  Jesus was very man and very God according to the Bible and Christian teaching for almost 2000 years.  Jesus, the God-man, resurrected his own body.

12.    The Trinity does not deny an “order” or procession—it is always Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—never any other “order”.

            I hope this helps.  We thank God that we are able to answer questions like these, as we are aware of the flawed and heretical teachings from which they come.  May God bless you as you study the Bible to see what God tells us about himself.  Also, please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht