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It's all about God's Love for You Copyright 2013 by H. D. Shively IntroductionMy quest to understand the Trinity began when I received a sixteen page email from a Muslim who was trying to convert me to Islam. In his letter he accused Christians of being polytheists because of the doctrine of trinitarianism. I was deeply grieved that he had so much misinformation and misunderstanding about the actual doctrine. I wanted to write a thorough Biblical explanation that was supported one hundred percent by the Scriptures. I had been a Bible scholar for over forty years and had saturated myself with the Word of God, but I did not know exactly where to begin, so I asked the Lord to show me. He graciously and spiritually took me by the hand as if I was a little child, and began to lead me on a two year journey through His Word, the result of that adventure is contained within the pages of this book. I give Him all the glory for it. I remember spending hours just resting in the Lord as the Holy Spirit kept bringing to my mind Scriptures and harmonized them together to paint the portrait of how our miraculous God has chosen to reveal Himself to humanity. |
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Table of Contents Chapter One One that is Three Chapter Two The Omnipresent, Majestic God the Father Chapter Three God's Holy Spirit Chapter Four The Son of God:The Last Adam Chapter Five Jesus Christ: The Image of God Chapter Six The Firstborn Son:Firstborn of Many Brethren Chapter Seven How to Receive the Gift of Eternal Life |
Examples like this are used to prove the existence of the Trinity and to show that the Three are all God; but unless we can explain how they are connected as one God, then these examples can just as easily represent the polytheism of three individual gods operating with equal power, or three gods operating as one, which is the definition of tritheism. Unfortunately, whenever I have asked my Christian brethren to explain how the Three are unified, the question is either avoided or I get presented with the same lists. The Word of God is written to protect us from the concepts of tritheism and polytheism and when we rely solely upon God’s Word for our answers we will get the true picture of God’s Divine Anatomy. Much error has infiltrated the church over the centuries because we have drifted away from exclusively following the Lord Jesus and His apostles, the men God has handpicked and chosen to be the expositors of His Truth. In this study we will see the Scriptures showing us that the One True God of Israel "became" three for the redemption of His people and that the relationship of the Father with the Son is the model for the intimate relationship God desires to have with all of His sons and daughters in Jesus. To understand the Trinity is to understand that it's all about redemption and relationship. In other words, it's all about God's love for you. It is my prayer that this work will not be just another theological exposition, but a vehicle through which the reader will be brought into a closer relationship with God. My Manner of Teaching I believe in communicating the Word of God very simply. In the beginning God planted a beautiful garden, put His children in it and then kicked back to watch them play and enjoy what He had given them. They only had one commandment to obey then; they were told not to eat the fruit of a particular tree or they would die. The first theologian was right there on the scene to contradict God’s simple instruction with “That’s not what He meant” - And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die: For God knows that in the day you eat it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:4, 5). God’s commandment was disobeyed. Suddenly everything went from simple to complicated and the peaceful life God had originally planned for His children was cruelly violated. There are a lot of theologians out there who, whether they realize it or not, are emulating that first theologian’s technique. I have noticed that some who have been schooled in a particular theology and parts of it do not line up with the whole of what the Scriptures are actually saying, can use an elaborate thesis as a means of decoying the student into a particular religious philosophy. God’s Word is written very simply. The teachers He appointed to pen His Words by His Spirit did not overwhelm us with complicated explanations, but wrote simply and to the point. We can wrestle with the Word when conviction or some other excuse compels us to try and rearrange what God is actually saying, but we do so to our detriment. When studying the Scriptures the context must always be consider as well as any relating texts. The Jews practiced the technique of “Scripture linking.” They would take a keyword, then search other texts to see how the same word was used as a means of enlightening the particular passage they were studying. Also the technique of linking Scriptures together as a means of illuminating the meaning of a subject is illustrated for us in the Word as an effective means of teaching Scripture. The writer of Hebrews effectively links a series of different verses from the Old Testament together from verses five through thirteen as the finale of chapter one. The Apostle Paul actually “talks” with the Word in Romans three, verses ten through eighteen, where he eloquently links Scriptures and parts of Scriptures together to paint a word picture of the wicked. This technique for study is criticized by some, even though the Word gives us a clear model for its value and use. The Bible is like a treasure chest filled with jewels. Each Scripture is a rare gem of God’s truth. A good teacher of God’s Word is like a fine jeweller. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, the jeweller sets each jewel in its proper order to create the finished work; like a beautiful necklace, the jewels of Scripture should stand out on their own. The setting that the jeweller creates should accent and enhance, but never overwhelm or detract from the beauty of the jewels. The Scriptures have been designed to interpret themselves; the light of each jewel illuminates the other. If a doctrine is correct, then all the other jewels will relate to each other in perfect harmony. In this study I have tried to be a good jeweller and keep the setting of my own words at a minimum. Also, I would like everyone to know that I have not been indoctrinated into anybody's particular denominational theology, therefore this is an objective study that is based thoroughly upon the Word of God. I believe that if a doctrine cannot be taught exclusively from the Word of God, then we have no business teaching it as the Word of God. I give God all the glory for this work and I praise Him for the beauty His Word contains. |
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3:16 |
