God - Existence and Trinity

THEOLOGY FOR EVERYONE

God, the Bible, and Man           Wk 5 - God’s Existence & Trinity

• God’s Existence - How do we know that God exists? What “proofs” exist to help us?

  • Traditional “Proofs” for the Existence of God

    • First Cause Argument - Everything that begins to exist is caused to exist by something. What thing has caused all other things to exist? God.

    • Fine-tuning Argument - The universe exists with precisely tuned laws that allow existence at all. What intelligent and purposeful being designed it to be this way? God.

    • Moral Argument - All mankind has categories of morally right and wrong. Where do these categories arise from and who is their source? God.

    • There are no proofs that are capable of overcoming spiritual blindness and replacing the work of the Holy Spirit in someone’s heart.

  • What evidence does God give us of His existence? (3 C’s)

    • Conscience

      • All persons have a deep, inner sense that God exists, they are his creatures, and he is their creator. Yet all willfully reject that truth (Rom 1:21, 25)

      • Sin leads people to think irrationally and to deny God’s existence, causing them to say, “There is no God.” (Ps. 10:3-4)

      • In the life of a Christian this inner awareness of God becomes stronger and more distinct. (1 Pe 1:8-9)

    • Creation

      • Every created thing gives evidence of God’s existence. (Acts 14:17, see also Rom 1:20, Ps. 19:1-2)

      • Mankind most abundantly shows the existence of God. (Gen 1:27)

    • Canon

      • A God’s very name argues that he is the only one who exists (Ex. 3:14-15).

      • God emphatically states he is the only existing God (Isa. 43:10-11)

      • God states he has always existed (Ps. 90:2)

    • Final observation: Only God can overcome our sin and enable us to be persuaded of his existence as revealed in Scripture. (2 Cor 4:4, 1 Cor 2:5)

• Trinity - How is God both one and three?

  • There is one God. (Deut. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:4)

  • God has always existed as three persons.

    • God the Father is clearly God. (1 Cor. 8:6a; Jn. 20:17)

    • The Son is fully God. (Jn. 1:1; 20:28)

    • The Holy Spirit is also fully God (Acts 5:3-4; Matt. 28:19).

    • Each person of the Trinity is distinct from the other two persons. (Mark 1:10-11)

  • Each person is fully God.

    • Every unique trait of God is true of each person

    • God is everywhere (Jer. 23:23; Matt. 28:20; Ps. 139:7)

    • God is all-knowing (Job 37:16; Jn. 21:17; Jn 14:26)

    • God is eternal (Ps. 90:2; Jn. 1:1; Heb. 9:14)

  • Common Errors regarding the trinity

    • Modalism claims that there is one person who appears to us in three different forms (or “modes”).

      • Modalism denies the simultaneous existence of each member and the relationships between them

      • Bad Trinity Analogy: Water, vapor, and ice

    • Arianism claims the Son and the Spirit are created beings

      • Arianism denies that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are fully God, but that they are only divine sorts of beings

      • Bad Trinity Analogy: Sun, light, heat

    • Tritheism acts as if Christians worship three separate gods.

      • Modern day Christians run the risk of thinking of God in this way when we forget that God is one being not three beings

      • Bad Trinity Analogy: Egg White, Yolk, and Shell

  • What distinct functions do the persons of the Trinity perform?

    • Creation

      • The Father - Speaks the words of creation, directing it (Gen. 1:3)

      • The Son - Does the work of creation, enacting it (John 1:3)

      • The Holy Spirit - Breathed into creation, giving life to it and completing it (Gen. 2:7; Job 34:15-16)

    • Redemption

      • The Father - Planned redemption and sent his son, directing it (Eph. 1:4-5)

      • The Son - Does the work of redemption, enacting it (John 17:1-4)

      • The Holy Spirit - Empowers the believer and seals them, giving life to them and completing them (John 3:5-8)

  • It is enough to agree with the Scriptures that God exists as one God in three persons, though we may never fully comprehend it

  • Application: Unity among diversity

    • The family is a prime example of the need for unity among diversity. The husband, wife, and children are different and have different roles in the family, but each must be unified for a healthy family life (Gen. 2:24; 1 Cor. 11:3)

    • The church is another example of unity among diversity. It is made up of many members each with unique gifting and demeanor, yet each one is an essential part of the body (1 Cor. 12:12).