 | The Reverend Amy Baumgartner is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, 525 N. Broadway, Wichita, KS. Amy was ordained at First Presbyterian Church of Wichita, Kansas in June 2008. She earned a Masters of Divinity from Denver Seminary. Before attending seminary, Amy graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Landscape Architecture and worked several years for an architectural firm in Indianapolis, Indiana. You may contact Rev. Baumgartner by email AssociatePastor@firstpresbywichita.org, or by phone at (316) 263-0248.
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Religion
2013-03-01 10:46:13
Questions on baptism
Q-Although difficult, I am trying to understand the concept of the Trinity, where there are three persons in one God. I have come to understand that God the Father always was and always will be. That’s kind of tough to imagine, but it does lead me to my question.
If there are three persons in one god, was there only one of these persons who “always was”? Did then both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have a beginning insofar as being a God? If so, I know when Jesus was born, but what about the Holy Spirit?
A-The Trinity is a difficult concept, and generations of church leaders have debated about the existence and the understanding of the Trinity. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that the term “Trinity” never appears in the Bible; however, the concept of a triune God (one God in three persons) is found throughout the Bible. Also found various places in the Bible is the idea of the eternal existence of God in all three persons.
Two scriptures particularly come to mind when exploring the eternal existence of God as Son and God as Spirit. The first passage is from John 1:1: in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Later in the prologue to John’s Gospel, we learn the identity of “the Word” as Jesus Christ. So, in the beginning, Jesus was existent with God the Father. The Son came in flesh some 2000 years ago; however, before coming in the flesh to dwell with humanity, Jesus was with God and in existence.
The second scripture begins similarly to the John passage. Genesis 1:1-2 starts “in the beginning” was God (indicating God’s eternal existence) and that God created the heavens and the earth. Prior to earth’s creation, there was a formless void and the spirit of God (could also be translated as “wind of God”) was hovering over the void. Again, the presence of God’s Spirit before creation reveals the eternal existence of not only the Son but also the Spirit. All three parts of the Godhead “always were.”
In addition, Jesus, the Son and the Spirit both had a role in creation. Colossians 1:15-16 indicates that in (or by) Jesus, all things were created. The Spirit’s role in creation is indicated in Psalm 33:6-7: by the word of God and the breath of his mouth the heavens were made (again, “breath” is the same Hebrew term translated elsewhere as Spirit or wind). To be able to create something, a person needs to be in existence before the creation occurred. All things were created by Jesus and the Spirit; therefore, both would have had to exist before the creation of the world.
While some people may point to the Spirit appearance at Pentecost (see Acts 2) as the beginning to the Spirit’s earthly ministry, throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament, the Spirit comes upon individuals, empowering them to do special work in God’s name (examples include David, Gideon, Samson, and Ezekiel). The presence of the Spirit helping individuals throughout the Bible reinforces the Spirit’s existence throughout time.
Therefore, after much church-wide debate studying the above scriptures (and many more), the church leaders concluded God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit were eternally existent.
