by Dr. Lehman Strauss
THE TRINITY
in the realm of the supernatural. This is a distinctive feature of Chris tianity. Paul summarized this by saying, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory” (I Cor. 2:7-10). Consider but a few of these hitherto unrevealed truths. There is the mystery of the incarnation (I Tim. 3:16); the mystery of the Rap ture of the Church (I Cor. 15:51. 52) ; the mystery of lawlessness (II Thess. 2:7); and the mystery of Babylon (Rev. 12:5). None of these, even though properly explained, will mean anything to a rationalist or an atheist. Even the natural man, who has never received Christ as Saviour, cannot figure them out, for they are spiritually discerned. There are some who object to the doctrine of the Trinity, saying that it involves a belief in three Gods. On the contrary, the fact is that the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity stands exactly opposed to the idea of three Gods (Deut. 6 :4). God is spir it. Therefore He does not consist of parts, nor is He susceptible to any such division. Many things in the world, such as electricity, are real and important but they cannot be fully understood. The existence of electricity, however, doesn’t depend upon man’s understanding of it. In every area of life, we’re called upon to accept facts which cannot be fully explained. Do we set aside the doc trine of the Trinity merely because man’s finite mind cannot fully un derstand it? This is unthinkable. The Trinity is at the very heart of Chris tian truth. It is the center from which all tenets of our faith radiate.
P art I O NE OP THE MOST DIFFICULT and controversial doctrines is that of the Trinity. The Bible itself never attempts to prove God’s existence although throughout Scripture it is assumed or inferred. The very open ing statement of the Word gives un mistakable clarity, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). God’s existence is the necessary ground and condition of the existence of everything else. The knowledge of God’s existence is universal for He Himself has put the evidence of this basic and essential truth in every man. In addition, God is knowable (Rom. 1:19, 21). He can be accepted readily by an unpreju diced mind. When one considers such a subject, the finite comes to grips with the In finite. The depths of these truths are immeasurable. While the actual word Trinity does not appear in the Bible, the teaching of it is amply set forth. Early church fathers declared, “We worship God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity, nei ther confounding the person or sep arating the substance.” The West minster Shorter Catechism says, “There are three persons within the Godhead,- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.” Other professions of faith are very similar, such as the Augsburg Confession. Having such masterful definitions available, I cannot escape the fact that in some of its aspects the Trin ity is a mystery. We must remember, however, that the human mind sees mystery in everything that appears 10
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