The Trinity Part 1- The History First, its important to understand that there are some topics in Scripture

we cannot fully comprehend. For example, the Bible clearly teaches that God has always existed and that He had no beginning. Yet, Christians have no problem believing the Scriptures and accepting the fact that God had no beginningeven though our minds cannot fully understand or comprehend it. In many ways, the concept of the Trinity, or Godhead, is very similar. Fully comprehending or understanding the Trinity is not an easy task. Most would say it is impossible for mans finite mind to fully fathom the complete nature of a God who created everything from nothing (Isaiah 55:8,9; Romans 11:33; and 1 Corinthians 13:12). On the other hand, Gods Word gives us a clear concept of the Trinity. -The ancient idea of monotheism was shattered by the sudden appearance of Jesus Christ on the earth. Here was someone who claimed He was the Son of God. But how could He be? -The Jewish people believed for centuries that there was only one God. If the claims of "this Jesus" were accepted, then in their minds their belief would be no different from that of the polytheistic pagans around them. If He were the Son of God, their whole system of monotheism would disintegrate. When Jesus plainly told certain Jews of His day that He was the Son of God, some were ready to stone Him for blasphemy (John 10:33). - To get around the problem of a plurality in the God-head, the Jewish community simply rejected Jesus. And to this day, Orthodox Jews will not accept Jesus' Messiahship. However, the more liberal Jews will at least admit that He was a great man -- maybe even a prophet. But the "new" Christian religion was still faced with the problem. How would proponents explain that there was only one God, not two? "The determining impulse to the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity in the church was the church's profound conviction of the absolute Deity of Christ, on which as on a pivot the whole Christian concept of God from the first origin of Christianity turned" The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, article "Trinity," p. 3021). - "Although the notion of a Trinity is characteristic of the Christian religion, it is by no means peculiar to it. In Indian religion, e.g., we meet with the Trinitarian group of Brahma, Siva, and Visnu; and the Egyptian religion with the Trinitarian group of Osiris, Isis, and Horus,. Nor is it only in historical religions that we find God viewed as a Trinity. One recalls in particular the Neo-Platonic view of the Supreme or Ultimate Reality, which was suggested by Plato..." Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible Vol. 12, p. 458).

- A Poll taken years ago found that 97% of the American public believed in God. Of that number, 83% believed that God is a Trinity -This word cannot be found in the bible, its a doctrine that came about when fathers were trying to understand their roles in salvation -Thus the term: "Tri" meaning three, and "Unity" meaning one,

Tri+Unity = Trinity
-The English word Trinity is derived from Latin Trinitas, meaning "the number three, a triad -Tertullian, a Latin theologian who wrote in the early 3rd century, is credited with using the words "Trinity", "person" and "substance" to explain that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are "one in essencenot one in Person -The Trinity is considered to be a mystery of Christian faith ["The mind of man cannot fully understand the mystery of the Trinity. He who would try to understand the mystery fully will lose his mind. But he who would deny the Trinity will lose his soul" (Harold Lindsey and Charles J. Woodbridge, A Handbook of Christian Truth, pp. 51-52).] -Some scholars dispute the authenticity of the Trinity and argue that the doctrine is the result of "later theological interpretations of Christ's nature and function There is need to look into Trinity and what the bible says: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1Thessalonians 5:21). Peter further admonished Christians: ". . . Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asked you a reason of the hope that is in you..." (1 Peter 3:15). Therefore the Christian is duty bound to prove whether or not God is a Trinity Question: -what analogies have been used to describe the trinity? [water exist in solid,liguid,gaswashine machine with three different settings.an actor who takes different parts in a playegg with shell, white and yolk.sun, light and warmth]

Part 2- Biblical Teaching about the trinity - Bible describes the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as holding all the properties

of God, but also each holds a set of properties distinct one from the other, unshared properties. -The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal - Other sects include: non-trinitarinists, modalism, oneness adherents, -unitarianists (God is just one person and separate from Jesus Christ, it resembles the monotheistic views shared by judaism and islam). They dont belive Jesus is God -Oneness teaches that there is only one being, revealing himself in different ways, believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. -Binitarianists argues that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, distinct from the God who is called the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:13, and that the Holy Spirit is not a person -islam sames as unitarianists -Jehovah's Witnesses rejects the trinity doctrine. According to their belief, Jehovah is the only true God. Jesus Christ is considered to be the son of the true God. Holy spirit, according to them is God's active force and not a person.

In john 10:30 and Gen 2:24, the use of ones means the same, Adam and Eve are two people but one flesh; so God can be three persons but remain one God. There is hierarchy in their relationship John 14:28 (argued that here Jesus was talking as a man)

Biblical scriptures: Some biblical verses specifically reference the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as distinct entities in a single narrative. While trinitarians interpret these passages as support for the notion of a Trinity, because these verses speak of distinct entities mentioned by name, and not of a Trinity, non-trinitarians also appeal to these verses in support of their argument that a Trinity was not envisioned at the time of their authorship. "As soon as Jesus Christ was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and landing on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'"[Mt 3:1617] [Mk 1:1011] [ Luke 3:22] [John 1:32] "The angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.'"[Luke 1:35] "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"[Heb 9:14]

 "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." [Acts 7:55] The eighth chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans, which contains many complex formulations of the relationship between God, Christ, and Spirit, including "the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead,"[Rom 8:11] "all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God,"[8:14-17] and "the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."[8:26-27]
1 John 5:7

Questions: - mark 13:32 /matt 24:36? (knoweth here means to reveal) -Matt 28:19, 2 Cor 13:13, Gen 18, Deut 6:4 (says that they are one), how? -If Jesus was God, why would he kneel down and pray to

himself "to remove this cup" (his impending death) from himself in the garden after the Last Supper, when the apostles all fell asleep? Why did he not grant himself his own wish? Why did he say to some other person, "...but let it not be my will, God, let it be yours."? Who was he talking to? Why was he talking to that person? What did that other person have to do with Jesus/God taking his own life (if, he actually did take his own life?) In this scripture I truly sense that it was very, very painful and heartbreaking for Jesus to sacrifice his life, and that if it were entirely up to him, he might re-structure things. But I'm convinced that it was not entirely up to him there was an entirely different person involved that Jesus was trying to please, trying to impress. I believe that other person was Jesus Father, God, who Jesus was praying to.
-If Jesus/God died for my sins, who resurrected him? If he

resurrected himself, did he truly "die" for my sins? When he said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit", who was Jesus/God talking to? If Jesus/God knew he had the ability to resurrect himself, what was sacrificed? What atonement was made for Adam's sin? john 10:17 -