Yes, the TRINITY can be a bit difficult to understand.

First, God has revealed who He is to us but God and Gods thoughts are far superior to ours (Isa. 55:8,9) so even though God has made them known to us, they are still superior to human reason. The Gospel (and the Trinity) is a mystery that has been revealed to us by God and His work. It is not irrational (making no sense) nor is it a paradox or contradiction. However, it is not totally explainable by human wisdom and reason. We only know only so far as it has been revealed to us. It is beyond us to understand the Triune God exhaustively in the way our God knows Himself. Nevertheless God has clearly revealed Himself to us so that we might understand who He is and what He does. Therefore, we must submit to the clear teaching of Scripture. The facts that (1) church history wrestled with how to understand the Scriptures on these teachings, (2) various men opposed the Trinity, and (3) even that some of the supporters of the Trinity were not always the most godly men does not detract from the clear Biblical teaching of the doctrine. Alleged similarities to pagan religions are more imaginative than actual.

The TRINITY:
God is one God who is three persons. Each of the persons in the Godhead are coequal in power and glory yet we do not worship three powers or glories. The Father is God; Jesus is God; the Holy Spirit is God but there is only one God. Gods essence is one but God is three persons. God is not three parts (as diagram would suggest) or three gods as math would suggest:

The Godhead
Holy Spirit

The Trinity is not three parts to God. and!not...! (above are untrue) but truth: the three in one

Father

F.+S.+H.S.=!3Gods +
-1-

Son

Holy Spirit Son

Father

God is three persons united in one being or essence.

The Bible clearly teaches that God is TRIUNE.

The Bible teaches that God is one:
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

Gods oneness is distinct from His existence in three persons. James Montgomery Boice has clearly articulated that the oneness described in Deuteronomy 6:4 does not exclude the Trinity because in this very verse the word for one is echad which means not one in isolation but one in unity. In fact, the word is never used in the Hebrew Bible of a stark singular entity. It is a word used in speaking of one bunch of grapes, for example, or in saying that the people of Israel responded as one people or in referring to Adam and Eve as one flesh.1
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 (NIV) 4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Paul has taken Deut. 6:4 and expanded it to explain that God refers to the Father and LORD refers to Christ. There are clearly at least two persons in the Godhead but Paul does not violate that there is one God. There is no other God besides the TRUE God.
Exodus 20:3 (NIV) 3 You shall have no other gods before me. Psalm 96:5 (NIV) For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Isaiah 44:6,8 (NIV) 6 This is what the LORD says Israels King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God 8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one. Isaiah 45:5-6 (NIV) 5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, 6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. Isaiah 42:8 (NIV) I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.

Part of Gods oneness is that there is no other God beside God. There is no plural when it comes to God. Thus, if God reveals that the Father and the Son and the Spirit are each God, they must all be coequal in power and glory since God says there is no other. God does not share His glory so each must be part of the one God. The Bible teaches that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is three persons.
1

Foundations of the Christian Faith (Revised in one vol.; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1986), 111.

-2-

2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV) 14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NIV) 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Ephesians 4:4-6 (NIV) 4 There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope when you were called 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

See also Ephesians 1:3-14; 1 Thess. 1:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2 & other passages.

The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is truly God.

Jesus is clearly God the Son who is coequal with the Father and eternally existed with the Father.
John 1:1-3 (NIV) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:18 (NIV) 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Fathers side, has made him known.

Jesus is God yet He is not GOD THE FATHER. Jesus who is God has made God the Father known to us.
Philippians 2:6-11 (NIV)6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus existed in the form of God and according to verse 6 He was equal with God.
Colossians 1:15-18 (NIV) 15 He [JESUS] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

-3-

Jesus was not first-created rather firstborn is a title of inheritance. That as one who is now truly human (and as one always truly God), He rules over all things. Jesus is equal to God:
John 5:17-18 (NIV) 17 Jesus said to them, My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working. 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

According to the Old Testament God has no equal. If Jesus is equal with the Father, than the one God must be three persons. Thus, the Bible teaches God is a Trinity.
Isaiah 40:25 (NIV) 25 To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Isaiah 46:5 (NIV) 5 To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?

See also Phil. 2:6. Christ existed in the form of God and was equal with Him. Jesus shares in the glory of God.
Isaiah 42:8 (NIV) 8 I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. Isaiah 48:11 (NIV) 11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another. John 1:14 (NIV) 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 17:5 (NIV) 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. Hebrews 1:1-3 (NIV) 1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of Gods glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 1 Corinthians 2:8 (NIV) 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The name of God is I AM. In Isaiah YHWH is referred to the I AM HE or I AM. Jesus is called the I AM. ! GOD is the I AM or I AM HE:
Exodus 3:14 (NIV) 14 God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.

-4-

Deuteronomy 32:39 (NIV) 39 See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. Isaiah 41:4 (NIV)4 Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORDwith the first of them and with the lastI am he. Isaiah 43:10 (NIV)10 You are my witnesses, declares the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Isaiah 46:4-5 (NIV) 4 Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. 5 To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared? Isaiah 47:8 (NIV) 8 Now then, listen, you wanton creature, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children. Isaiah 51:12 (NIV) 12 I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, Isaiah 52:6-7 (NIV) 6 Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I. 7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, Your God reigns!

1The name of God is so important that God can speak of Himself simply the One who is, I AM HE or I AM. No one else compares to the person of God! Only the living and true God can speak of Himself or be spoken of in such language without committing blasphemy. I AM and I AM HE are title reserved for the LORD God alone! ! JESUS is the I AM or I AM HE;
John 8:24 (NASB95) 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins ; for unless you believe that I am He , you will die in your sins . John 8:28 (NASB95) 28 So Jesus said, When you lift up the Son of Man , then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative , but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. John 8:58 (NASB95) was born , I am .
58

Jesus said to them, Truly , truly , I say to you, before Abraham

John 13:19 (NASB95) 19 From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass , so that when it does occur , you may believe that I am He. John 18:5,6,8 (NASB95) 5 They answered Him, Jesus the Nazarene. He said to them, I am He. And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. 6 So when He

-5-

said to them, I am He , they drew back and fell to the ground. 8 Jesus answered, I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way ,

The NASB puts the He in italics because the phrase could be translated I AM. The Greek words ego eimi refer to the divine name I AM. The phrase ego eimi is also the Greek translation for Isaiahs reference to I AM HE. This is not a random coincidence for Jesus, John or readers of the Greek New Testament. For Jesus to say He was ego eimi the I AMHe was claiming to be God. Jesus is referring back to Exodus and Isaiah to reveal who He is. Numerous OT texts that use the name YHWH (Jehovah) are quoted as referring to Jesus: The OT name for God is YHWH translated into English as Lord. In Greek the translation in the New Testament and the Greek translation of the Old Testament is kyrios. The New Testament takes a number of OT passages where YHWH is used and applies them to Christ. In other words, the New Testament takes Old Testament verses that teach about YHWH and says that they teach about Jesus. So we either have two options: the New Testament writers are wrong and are engaged in idolatry {because it cannot be dismissed denied that they quote these passages referring to Jesus} or Jesus really is God, not just any God but the same God revealed in the OT. NEW TESTAMENT OLD TESTAMENT
Psalm 102:21-27 (NIV) 21 So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem 22 when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the LORD. 23 In the course of my life he broke my strength; he cut short my days. 24 So I said: Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations. 25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. 27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end. Hebrews 1:10-12 (NIV) 10 He also says, In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 11 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. 12 You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end. ! Verse 8 begins and to the Son He says meaning the Father speaks to the Son. The start of verse 10 continues the thought that the Father is speaking these verses to the Son. The quote is from Psalm 102:25-27 but notice in the Psalm the worshipper is talking to the LORD (YHWH) and addresses Him as God. In Hebrews, this Psalm is spoken to Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:9-11 (NIV) 9 Therefore God [the Father] exalted him [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Romans 10:9-10, 13 (NIV) 9 That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is

Isaiah 45:23, 24 (NIV) 23 By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. 24 They will say of me, In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength. All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. Joel 2:32 (NIV) 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the

-6-

Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. him, 13 for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 1 Corinthians 1:31 (NIV) 31 Therefore, as it is written: Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.

LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

1 Corinthians 2:16 (NIV) 16 For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:22 (NIV) 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lords jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Jeremiah 9:24 (NIV) 24 but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the LORD. Isaiah 40:13 (NIV) 13 Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Deuteronomy 32:21 (NIV) 21 They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding. Zechariah 14:5 (NIV) 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. Psalm 8:1-2 (NIV) 1 For the director of music. According to gittith. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. ! Notice in Ps. 8 YHWH is praised, in Matthew Jesus quotes it when they praise Him! Isaiah 8:13-14 (NIV) 13 The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, 14 and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. Psalm 68:18 (NIV) 18 When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious that you, O LORD God, might dwell there.

1 Thessalonians 3:13 (NIV) 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. Matthew 21:15-16 (NIV) 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were indignant. 16 Do you hear what these children are saying? they asked him. Yes, replied Jesus, have you never read, From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise ? Romans 9:32-33 (NIV) 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written: See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Ephesians 4:8-10 (NIV) 8 This is why it says: When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men. 9 (What does he ascended mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the

-7-

very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 1 Peter 2:3 (NIV) 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 3:14-15 (NIV) 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.15 But in your hearts set apart [regard as holy] Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, Revelation 1:7 (NIV) 7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

Psalm 34:8 (NIV) 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Isaiah 8:12 (NIV) 12 Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread,

Revelation 2:23 (NIV) 23 I [Jesus] will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. Revelation 22:12 (NIV) 12 Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.

Zechariah 12:1 (NIV) 1 An Oracle This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares: Zechariah 12:10 (NIV) 10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. Jeremiah 17:10 (NIV) 10 I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve. Isaiah 40:10 (NIV) 10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. Psalm 62:12 (NIV) 12 and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done. Isaiah 40:3 (NIV) 3 A voice of one calling: In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. ! Here the word for LORD is YHWH. But in the NT, John fulfilling this verse prepares the way for Jesus. Psalm 24:1 (NIV) 1 Of David. A psalm. The earth is the LORDs, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;

Matthew 3:3 (NIV) 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. ! See also Mark 1:3; Luke 1:76; 3:4-6; John 1:23 each quote Isaiah 40. 1 Corinthians 10:26 (NIV) 26 for, The earth is the Lords, and everything in it. ! The context clearly refers to Jesus with the

-8-

reference to the Lords Supper.

Jesus is called the Alpha and Omega which is a title that comes from Isaiah to refer to the one true God.
Isaiah 41:4 (NIV)4 Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORDwith the first of them and with the lastI am he. Isaiah 44:6 (NIV)6 This is what the LORD says Israels King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Isaiah 48:12 (NIV) 12 Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last.

God the Father says:

Revelation 1:8 (NIV) 8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Revelation 21:5-7 (NIV) 5 He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new! Then he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. 6 He said to me: It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

The Son is also the Alpha and Omega:

Revelation 1:17-18 (NIV) 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

The resurrected Jesus is the First and Last; a title that in the OT book of Isaiah refers to YHWH!
Revelation 2:8 (NIV) 8 To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. Revelation 22:12-13 (NIV) 12 Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

You cannot have two Alphas and Omegas without acknowledging they are coequal. Alpha and Omega or First and Last is a clear reference to the description of YHWH in the OT. The Bible is teaching us that Jesus and the Father are two distinct persons who are each truly God yet there is only one God not gods. Jesus is explicitly called God.
John 1:18 (NIV)18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Fathers side, has made him known. John 20:27-28 (NIV) 27 Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. 28 Thomas said to him [Jesus], My Lord and my God!

-9-

Hebrews 1:8 (NIV) 8 But about the Son he says, Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. Romans 9:5 (NIV) 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. Titus 2:13 (NIV) 13 while we wait for the blessed hopethe glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 2 Peter 1:1 (NIV)1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Acts 20:28 (NIV) 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 1 John 5:20 (NIV) 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Isaiah 7:14 (NIV) 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel [God with us]. Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

To show the full Godhood of Jesus Christ we have could also examine: Jesus miracles, Jesus claims, Jesus fulfillments of prophecy, the titles Son of Man and Son of God, Jesus attributes, Jesus power to forgive sins, and numerous other examples. Only God can create (Isa. 44:24); Only God is Savior (Isa. 43:10) but Jesus is described as Creator and Savior. Jesus is explicitly NOT an angel nor was He ever an angel:
Hebrews 1:3-4 (NIV) 3 The Son is the radiance of Gods glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Jesus becoming superior refers to His humanity. The point of this passage is precisely that all things were made by Jesus as God.
Hebrews 1:13-14 (NIV) 13 To which of the angels did God ever say, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet? 14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 2:5-8 (NIV) 5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place where someone has testified: What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 7 You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor 8 and put everything under

-10-

his feet. In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.

An angel cannot be made to rule over all things. So Christ is not nor was He ever an angel if He is exalted to reign over all things. As a man, Jesus is truly God in the flesh. He is 100% God and 100% man.
John 1:14 (NIV) 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Colossians 1:19 (NIV)19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, Colossians 2:9 (NIV) 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, Hebrews 2:14 (NIV) 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of deaththat is, the devil

All Things were created by Jesus.

Colossians 1:16 (NIV) 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

(See also Hebrews 1:2-4, 9-12; 1 Cor 8:5-6; John 1:3) The Bible teaches that only God alone created. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for create in Genesis 1:1 is used only with reference to God! All first century Jews (Christian or not) recognized that only God created. Angels, spirits, and other beings (which Jews believed existed) were never associated with the act of creation! Thus, for Christians to say Jesus created is to say He is God! To say they are created for Him is to say that He is God since creation exists for Gods glory. All things in Colossians 1:16 refers to everything ever created (Gen. 1:1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth meaning all things). It does not mean all things except Himself. ALL THINGS is a common Biblical phrase to refer to all creation (see Romans 11:36 referring to all creation made for God). Colossians 1:16,17 teaches that Jesus is separate from Creation! JESUS IS NOT A CREATED BEING BUT THE CREATOR! The Old Testament teaches that the LORD (YHWH, Jehovah) created alone or by Himself! He had no help from another being. If Jesus created things, then according to other Scriptures He must be GOD!
Isaiah 44:24 (NIV) 24 This is what the LORD says your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, Job 9:8 (NIV) 8 He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.

-11-

The Bible clearly teaches the Holy Spirit is not a force.

The Holy Spirit is clearly a person and is truly God. To call the Spirit the Counselor is to speak of Him in personal terms not a force.
John 14:16,17 (NIV) 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:24-26 (NIV) 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25 All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 15:26 (NIV) 26 When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. John 16:7 (NIV) 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

In John 16:8-14, the Holy Spirit convicts, judges, He guides the believers to truth, He speaks, reveals, makes known, brings glory to the Son. The Father has given all things to the Son and so the Son takes and gives it to the Spirit to make known. This is clearly the Trinity at work. Just as the Father gives to the Son, the Son gives to the Spirit to reveal. The analogy of activity assumes the Spirit is a full member of the Godhead so that He is sent just like the Son was sent. So also in other passages, the Father sends the Son and the Father and the Son send the Spirit. This assumes equality within the Godhead. The Holy Spirit speaks, sends and prophesies (among many other personal activities):
Acts 13:2-4 (NIV) 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. 4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. Acts 21:10-11 (NIV) 10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Pauls belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, The Holy Spirit says, In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.

The HOLY SPIRIT is lied to which is the same as lying to God Himself:

-12-

Acts 5:3-4 (NASB95) 3 But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.

Only the Holy Spirit who is God can make the mind of God known.
1 Corinthians 2:11 (NIV) 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the mans spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit makes us Gods Temple.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV) 16 Dont you know that you yourselves are Gods temple and that Gods Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys Gods temple, God will destroy him; for Gods temple is sacred, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV) 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 (NIV)16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. 17 Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. 18 I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Ephesians 2:21-22 (NIV) 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

In the Old Testament, the temple was to be the place where Gods glory dwelled. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit who transforms us into the image of Christ precisely because the Spirit is Gods glory residing within us. Remember, God does not give His glory to another (Isa. 42:8; 48:11). The Holy Spirit in us is Gods glory dwelling within precisely because the Spirit is co-equal in power and glory with the Father and the Son. We can examine numerous passages that describe the work of the Spirit including His involvement in creation, the resurrection, salvation, and applying the work of redemption to the believer. The Holy Spirit is also called the power of God, this does not mean the Holy Spirit is a force.

-13-

To reject the TRINITY is to commit idolatry. IF we do not believe Jesus is fully God and coequal with the Father we cannot be saved!
John 8:24 (NIV) 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins. 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV) 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:20-21 (NIV) 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. Acts 4:12 (NIV) 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. John 3:36 (NIV) 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for Gods wrath remains on him. John 14:6 (NIV) 6 Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

To reject that Jesus is God incarnate [in the flesh] is to be an ANTICHRIST.

1 John 4:2-3 (NIV) 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 2 John 7 (NIV) 7 Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

-14-