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LDP  One person pick up the following from the front of the room for your table:  Weekly Assignment Sheet  Bible Reading Plans for 10/15 & 10/22  Practice your Scripture memory before class

DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY Todd Engstrom

Misunderstanding the Trinity Doug Pagitt “What I think is that the doctrine of the Trinity, as formulated by Augustine and his peers, solved a certain problem at a certain time… The people in my community, at Solomon’s Porch, have no trouble believing that God is holistically related to the entirety of creation. That’s just not an issue for us. Quantum physics? Nano-technology? Now those are issues that beg for theological consideration. But God becoming a man? That one is no problem.”

The Importance of the Trinity Francis Schaeffer “Every once in a while in my discussions someone asks how I can believe in the Trinity. My answer is always the same. I would still be an agnostic if there was no Trinity, because there would be no answers. Without the high order of personal unity and diversity as given in the Trinity, there are no answers.”

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (Shema) “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Matthew 3:13-17 “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”

2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Propositional Summary of Trinity 1. God is Three Persons 1. Each Person is Fully God 1. There is One God

The Shield of Faith

Trinitarian Definitions Wayne Grudem’s Definition God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God. Halim Suh’s Definition God's whole and undivided essence belongs equally, simultaneously, and fully to each of the three persons of the Godhead.

The Trinity and Salvation Ephesians 1:3-10 [3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, [4] even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love [5] he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, [6] to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. [7] In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, [8] which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight [9] making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ [10] as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

The Trinity and Salvation Ephesians 1:11-14 [11] In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, [12] so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. [13] In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

The Trinity and Relationships John 17:20-23 [20] “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, [21] that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, [23] I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

The Trinity and Relationships John Piper “The Trinity has a very significant application to prayer. The general pattern of prayer in the Bible is to pray to the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). Our fellowship with God should be enhanced by consciously knowing that we are relating to a tri-personal God!”

Announcements/Homework 1. Bible Reading Plan Week 5 2. Study for Written Exam I  Due on noon – will be posted online on 10/15  Study session next Wednesday (no official class) – leaders Fabs if you want to have a study session in the building (with childcare)  Bible Study Review – this Sunday St. John’s – Fabs to RSVP