Three in one?

[starlite]

Is it important what we believe? John 4:24 says to worship with truth. Where do we find the truth? John 17:17 tells us God's Word (the Bible) is truth. First, God is unique. At Genesis 17:1 he is called God Almighty. That term is only used in connection with God. Think of the meaning of the word almighty. Isaiah 42:8 tells us to worship Him (Jehovah God) alone. Secondly, Was God created? Psalms 90:10 says that He has always been. Once again this only applies to Jehovah. Now as for Jesus, Isaiah 9:6 refers to him as a “mighty” god. One different in power. At Matthew 14:33 eyewitnesses said God gave Jesus his power. Mark 1:11 lets us know that Jehovah God approved of Jesus. Would this need to be done if Jesus and Jehovah are one? Jesus is called the “only begotten”. To beget means to father or sire. The Greek word used here is the same one used for Abraham and Isaac. Father and son. John 10:30 does say that the Father and Son are one....but in what sense? If we go to John 17:20 we find that others are now included in that “one”. Therefore these are “one” with God in thought and purpose. In agreement so to speak. Think about this if you will....even in visions...Jehovah and Jesus are always two separate beings. And when Jesus went back to heaven they continued to be separate. Jesus sat at the right hand of God if you recall. Now to the Holy Spirit...it never has a name other than Holy Spirit. From 2 Corinthians 6:4 we discern that the holy spirit is a tool used to accomplish something. It was used to create, destroy, fill, give insight and it came down on Jesus at his baptism. It is not part of a trinity or a person. It is a force that God uses to accomplish is will. To conclude I suggest that personal research be done to find exactly when the Trinity teaching actually became a part of doctrine. You'll find it quite interesting to learn of the turmoil it caused. Galatians 1:8 shows that it is important what we believe.

 

[michel]

There is no answer to the actual moment the idea of "The Trinity" came to be used (none that I have found), but, there's a rather (to my thinking) excellent piece of writing here:-


an extract of it as follows:-

The Trinity is a controversial doctrine; many Christians admit they don't understand it, while many more Christians don't understand it but think they do.
In fact, although they'd be horrified to hear it, many Christians sometimes behave as if they believe in three Gods and at other times as if they believe in one.

and

The Churches were arguing about whether the Son played any part in the origin of the Spirit as one of the persons of the Trinity from the Father, who is the only ultimate source.
The Latin word filioque, which means 'and from the son', was gradually inserted by Western churches into the Nicene Creed so that it stated that the Holy Spirit proceeds not from the God the Father alone, as the early Church Fathers believed, but from both God the Father and God the Son.
The Eastern wing of the Church believed and believes that the Father alone had given rise to the Holy Spirit, and the idea that both Father and Son had done so was condemned as heretical.
Even today, the creed used by the Eastern Churches professes faith "in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father," without mentioning the Filioque. The Western Churches (i.e. the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches) expressly say that the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son."
There were fundamental problems of authority as well as of doctrine. The Eastern wing of the Church was angry that the Western wing of the Church had altered a fundamental part of the creed without their agreement - indeed without even consulting them. This didn't seem to them like the behaviour of a united church, and so the two wings eventually went their separate ways.
Many church historians think that the Western wing of the Church did behave very badly by trying to introduce such a major change to Christian belief in such a cavalier way.

<--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Perichoresis is a Greek word that means permeation without confusion.
This is the idea that each of the persons of the Trinity shares completely in the life of the other two.
Theologians say that each of the persons of the Trinity "interpenetrates" the others, so that the distinctions between the persons are preserved and the substance of God is not divided into three.
The theologian Leonardo Boff described perichoresis as "the intimate and perfect inhabitation of one Person in the other," meaning that the three persons of the Trinity live in and relate to each other perfectly.
Many modern writers prefer to use the word indwelling to express the idea of perichoresis. They say there is a mutual indwelling of the persons of the Trinity.
Other words for the same thing are coinherence and circuminsessio.

All facets of divine activity are reflected in all three persons of the Trinity. They are dynamically intermingled. They may not be separated.Richard B. Hays​

and this article (an extract) is as follows:-
The Origin of the Trinity: From Paganism to Constantine

Most of ancient theology is lost under the sands of time. However, archaeological expeditions in ancient Mesopotamia have uncovered the fascinating culture of the Sumerians, which flourished over 4,000 years ago. Though Sumeria was overthrown first by Assyria, and then by Babylon, its gods lived on in the cultures of those who conquered. The historian S. H. Hooke tells in detail of the ancient Sumerian trinity: Anu was the primary god of heaven, the ‘Father’, and the ‘King of the Gods’; Enlil, the ‘wind-god’ was the god of the earth, and a creator god; and Enki was the god of waters and the ‘lord of wisdom’ (15-18). The historian, H. W. F. Saggs, explains that the Babylonian triad consisted of ‘three gods of roughly equal rank... whose inter-relationship is of the essence of their natures’ (316).

Is this positive proof that the Christian Trinity descended from the ancient Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian triads? No. However, Hislop furthers the comparison, ‘In the unity of that one, Only God of the Babylonians there were three persons, and to symbolize [sic] that doctrine of the Trinity, they employed... the equilateral triangle, just as it is well known the Romish Church does at this day’ (16).[/QUOTE]

 

[Katzpur]

Is it important what we believe? John 4:24 says to worship with truth. Where do we find the truth? John 17:17 tells us God's Word (the Bible) is truth. First, God is unique. At Genesis 17:1 he is called God Almighty. That term is only used in connection with God. Think of the meaning of the word almighty. Isaiah 42:8 tells us to worship Him (Jehovah God) alone. Secondly, Was God created? Psalms 90:10 says that He has always been. Once again this only applies to Jehovah. Now as for Jesus, Isaiah 9:6 refers to him as a “mighty” god. One different in power. At Matthew 14:33 eyewitnesses said God gave Jesus his power. Mark 1:11 lets us know that Jehovah God approved of Jesus. Would this need to be done if Jesus and Jehovah are one? Jesus is called the “only begotten”. To beget means to father or sire. The Greek word used here is the same one used for Abraham and Isaac. Father and son. John 10:30 does say that the Father and Son are one....but in what sense? If we go to John 17:20 we find that others are now included in that “one”. Therefore these are “one” with God in thought and purpose. In agreement so to speak. Think about this if you will....even in visions...Jehovah and Jesus are always two separate beings. And when Jesus went back to heaven they continued to be separate. Jesus sat at the right hand of God if you recall. Now to the Holy Spirit...it never has a name other than Holy Spirit. From 2 Corinthians 6:4 we discern that the holy spirit is a tool used to accomplish something. It was used to create, destroy, fill, give insight and it came down on Jesus at his baptism. It is not part of a trinity or a person. It is a force that God uses to accomplish is will. To conclude I suggest that personal research be done to find exactly when the Trinity teaching actually became a part of doctrine. You'll find it quite interesting to learn of the turmoil it caused. Galatians 1:8 shows that it is important what we believe.

I agree with most of what you said, although I do not believe that Jehovah is God's name. I believe it was the name by which Jesus was known prior to His mortal existance. You must be a Jehovah's Witness. They are the only people I know of who refer to God as "Jehovah God." Anyway, if you are a Jehovah's Witness, I hope you will acknowledge that fact. The JWs are not well represented on this forum and it would be good for everyone to know that there is a JW here who can provide accurate information on their doctrines.

 

[starlite]

Yes I am...now the way is open. Have fun ya'll!

 

[Katzpur]

Yes I am...now the way is open. Have fun ya'll!

Well done, starlite. There are a lot of LDS on this site, but I've been on other sites where I was the only one. It's hard to come right out and admit it when you know how negatively most people feel about your beliefs. At any rate, you can trust me to come to your defense if people start coming down on your too hard.

Now, back to the topic of your post. Sorry for the interruption.