 | Dr. John Click, has been the Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church for 27 years now he is the pastor emeritus. He’s a graduate of Baylor University with a BA and Southwestern Seminary with a BD. He received his DMin at Midwestern Seminary. He has served in numerous positions in the Southern Baptist Convention, including: President of the Kansas/Nebraska Convention, Executive Committee of SBC, North American Mission Board, International Mission Board, and Houston Baptist University Board. He has traveled to preach in Europe, Central and South America and the Far East. Dr. Click is the founder and first President of Harvest Communications, which is a TV production company specializing in producing teaching materials for Para- Church organizations. You may contact him for comments or questions by e-mail at: Jcclick99@aol.com. |
Religion
2007-07-30 15:23:00
An attempt to understand the Trinity
I have a difficult time understanding the Trinity. I am bewildered when I think how all three persons in God were present at Jesus’ Baptism and at his Transfiguration. Is there any explanation of the Trinity that can help us, who did not attend theology classes?
You are right: the Bible clearly teaches that God is a “Trinity”, although this term is not used. Don’t think of trinity a PROBLEM, but as a CLUE!”
It is meant to help us relate to a Being Who is so very different. He is a “Person” with knowledge, emotions, will, etc. But He is much more than we usually mean by “person”. He is not in our Time/Space; He can be more than one place at one time! We can relate to Him without fully understanding Him, just as my dog can relate to me without really understanding me. I remember being embarrassed when someone asked me, “To whom do you pray, God the Father...the Son...or the Holy Spirit?” After praying for years, I didn’t know! I had never thought about it! But I soon realized that I should not be embarrassed. One cannot pray to only One or the Other.
When I pray, I look up to the Father, with my prayer mediated through Christ while the Holy Spirit within me brings thoughts to mind and helps me find words. I pray to God, through God and by God! Somehow, even the newest Christian seems to grasp this unconsciously when he prays.
Consider the peculiar situation during the 33 years when God was on earth incarnated as Jesus. He came into the limitations of time/space! He could be at only one place at one time. But He was still controlling the universe while He was growing up in Nazareth! It is helpful to think of Him as being two persons at that time. And when I accept Christ as Saviour, I am told (and experience) that God comes to live in my body and regenerates my nature. Then God is dwelling in me, and It is helpful to think of God as three.
But...the Three in my experience are truly One. All are eternal, holy, infinite, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. You mentioned the three-fold presence of God seen at Jesus baptism. Also, the second verse in the Bible says God’s Spirit hovered over the formless earth. And John 1 says “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God...all things were made through Him...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory”’ So Christ was co-creator of everything! Is Jesus the Son of God just as I am the son of my father? No...the human relationship which is most like theirs is a good father/son relationship. But I soon learn that it is much more than that! When we get into multi-dimensional, timeless reality of God’s universe....and we will in Heaven...we will be able to understand without these mental models which are helpful here. Our universe will be seen as a tiny, limited incubator for making Children of God out of human creatures.
