The Trinity

The Trinity: Matthew 28:16-20

Trinity Sunday reminds us as Christians we are caught up in the Community of Love that is God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and are called to invite others into that same Community.

Prolegomena: Humility Required

Venn Diagram

Need humility because God is outside of creation, both seen and unseen

Venn diagram of overlap of heaven and earth is meant to illustrate the Big Story of the Bible.

Add big circle around Venn Diagram

Why I study both Science and Religion…or the Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture…or natural philosophy and philosophy

Doctrine of the Trinity: The Creeds

There is One God existing in 3 distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

The persons are of the same Substance homoousias.

Arianism…early heresie

325 Council of Nicaea

As Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire and, therefore, institutionalized, the leaders created creeds to help everyone get on the same page.

The Nicene Creed is one of those.

We say the Apostles Creed

Bylaws combined

Difficult because dealing with issues that aren’t necessarily our issues

Reformed tradition Barmen Declaration…corrective to the German Christians colluding with Hitler

The early church was struggling to make sense of Triune nature of God the Biblical articulated.

GOD

Matthew 28:16–20 (NLT)

16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”