Paradox Apparent contradiction
2 Cor.12:10 "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Oxymoron A combination of contradictory words eg cruel kindness, a still wind.
Antinomies "A contradiction
between two equally valid principles or between inferences correctly
drawn from
such principles"
Anti against
nomos
law
Thus against human law or
reasoning.
Why we can not understand
everything here on earth is due to a limited flawed mind under the influence
of sin.
Deut. 29:29 "The Secret
things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us
and to our sons forever"
Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
1 Cor.1:21 "For since in
the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was
pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who
believe."
1 Cor.13:12 "Now we see
but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now
I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. "
Luke 10:21 "At that time
Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the
wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for
this was your good pleasure."
Heresy
Heresy occurs when we try
to bring doctrine down to our level, rather than acknowledging that God
is understandable but that we can not understand everything.
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11 Great Doctrines that take us to the heavens.
The TrinityThe Trinity
Jesus: Is God and man
Divine Sovereignty vs Human Responsibility (Evil) Time
Divine Sovereignty vs Human Responsibility (Salvation)
The resurrected body
Space (Creation)
Space (Omnipresence vs. localisation)
God is transcendent and immanent
Positional vs experiential truth
The Bible: The Word of God written by people.
The Trinity can be summarised as :The Father is God, the Son is God, The Holy Spirit is God. There is one God"
B.B. Warfield "There is only one God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three coeternal and coequal Persons, the same in substance but distinct in subsistence."
The Father is God
1 Peter 1:2 "God the Father
decided to choose you as his people.."
The Son is God
John 20:28-29 "Thomas replied,
"You are my Lord and my God!"
Jesus said, "Thomas, do
you have faith because you have seen me? The people who have faith in me
without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!"
Titus 2:13 "We are filled with hope, as we wait for the glorious return of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ."
John 14:9 "Jesus answered:
"Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long
time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show
us the Father'?"
Jesus replied: Philip, I
have been with you for a long time. Don't you know who I am? If you have
seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father?"
John 5:18 "Now the leaders wanted to kill Jesus for two reasons. First, he had broken the law of the Sabbath. But even worse, he had said that God was his Father, which made him equal with God."
The Holy Spirit is God
Acts 5:3 "Peter said, "Why
has Satan made you keep back some of the money from the sale of the property?
Why have you lied to the Holy Spirit? The property was yours before you
sold it, and even after you sold it, the money was still yours. What made
you do such a thing? You didn't lie to people. You lied to God!"
1 Cor. 2:10-11 "God's Spirit
has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is
deep in the mind of God. You are the only one who knows what is in your
own mind, and God's Spirit is the only one who knows what is in God's mind.
The three persons are distinctive
Matthew 28:19 "Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptise them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" (Father, Son, Spirit)
1 Peter 1:2 "God the Father decided to choose you as his people, and his Spirit has made you holy. You have obeyed Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his blood."(Father, Spirit, Son)
Hebrews 9:14 "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!" NIV (Son, Spirit, Father) )
2 Cor. 13:14 "I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will bless you and be kind to you! May God bless you with his love, and may the Holy Spirit join all your hearts together. " (Son, Father, Spirit)
John 15:26 "I will send you the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit will help you and will tell you about me." (Spirit, Father, Son)
Matt. 3:16-17 "So Jesus was baptised. And as soon as he came out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. Then a voice from heaven said, "This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him." (Spirit, Son, Father)
There is one God
Exodus 20:3 "You shall have
no other gods before me."
Isaiah 46:9 "Remember the
former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am
God, and there is none like me."
Isaiah 43:10 "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."
1 Cor. 8:4 "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. "
Traditional different
roles within the Trinity
+ Father:
is Creator and eternally Father.
+ Son:
is the image of God in the flesh and aims to glorify the Father. The only
eternally begotten Son.
+ The Spirit:
proceeds from the Father and the Son to glorify Jesus. He brings about
the completion of creation and redemption.
Unity within the Trinity
John 10:30 "I am one with
the Father."
John 15:26 "I will send you
the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit
will help you and will tell you about me."
Earthy illustrations of
the Trinity
How do each of the following
fall down as illustrations of the Trinity
Space: length, width,
height
Matter: energy, motion,
phenomena
Time: past,
present , future
Water: Ice, water,
steam
Source, manifestation, meaning
Motive, actions, consequences
The three leaf clover
* How can we water the
doctrine of the Trinity down? How can it give us a wrong view of
God?
Practical insights
* Unity within diversity
Romans 11:36 " For from
him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever!
Amen."
* God is unique
* Redemption: all are
involved.
1 John 4:9-10 "This is how
God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world
that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but
that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins"
* The ultimate fellowship
John 17:,5,24 "And now,
Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before
the world began."Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where
I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved
me before the creation of the world."
John 17: 22 -23 "I
have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we
are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity
to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you
have loved me."
* Prayer
Romans 8:26-27 "In the same
way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought
to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that
words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of
the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance
with God's will."
John 16:23-24 "In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."
