The Trinity 20 Jan 19

(Message 3) How do you picture God? We envision God based on preconceived ideas from our religious upbringing, current culture, or what others have told us. But what if He doesn’t fit in one of those boxes? What if nature of God holds more mystery than we’re comfortable with? Join us as we explore one of the most profound mysteries of God’s being, the Trinity. #GCthe7

When we don’t understand the Trinity:

We ignore it.
We get frustrated by it.
We seek to understand it.

Trinity:
God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God.

Why it matters:

God has revealed himself this way.
Because our salvation is at stake.

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Start reading.

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

Colossians 2:9

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,”

Deuteronomy 6:4-5

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

Start talking. Find a conversation starter for your group.

In day to day life, do you find yourself being a person who typically wants to understand everything or are you OK if you don’t understand things?

Start thinking. Ask a question to get your group thinking.

Think through the last week. Did you experience anything that you didn’t quite understand? Did you just ignore it? Did you think or talk about it and come up with multiple plausible explanations that left you frustrated and no closer to understanding? Did you take time to ask questions in order to find an accurate explanation? Which approach do you usually take? Why?
We have a challenge for you! The challenge is to connect all the dots by using only 4 straight lines, connected end-to-end. (Leaders will have the solution to this puzzle and the reason why we had you do it.)

The word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible. Troy’s explanation of the meaning of the Trinity is, “God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God.” How do we scripturally support Troy’s explanation? Give examples.

Start sharing. Choose a question to create openness.

What were your thoughts on the Trinity before Sunday’s sermon? Did the concepts of unity, equality, and distinction in the sermon answer any questions you had? What questions do you still have? Share and discuss with your group. Are you okay with not fully comprehending this doctrine? Why or why not?
Why is it important to understand that we can’t know God apart from the Trinity?

Start doing. Commit to a step and live it out this week.

Read and discuss these Scriptures (and Scriptures that Troy used in his message) that confirm the truth of the Trinity: 1 Timothy 2:5; John 14:26; Colossians 2:9; John 10:30; John 17:21; Romans 9:5; 2 Corinthians 13:14.
Commit to growing in your knowledge of the Trinity by meeting with God daily in His Word and in prayer.

Start praying. Be bold and pray with power.

Pray for a teachable, obedient spirit that will allow you to be content with an incomplete comprehension of the Trinity. Romans 11:33-34. “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”

Start digging. For further study.

Read and discuss the passage and diagram on the back of this sheet taken from the article titled “What does the Bible teach about the Trinity?” (www.gotquestions.org/Trinity-Bible.html)

What does the Bible teach about the Trinity?

“There have been many attempts to develop illustrations of the Trinity. However, none of the popular illustrations are completely accurate. The egg (or apple) fails in that the shell, white, and yolk are parts of the egg, not the egg in themselves, just as the skin, flesh, and seeds of the apple are parts of it, not the apple itself. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not parts of God; each of them is God. The water illustration is somewhat better, but it still fails to adequately describe the Trinity. Liquid, vapor, and ice are forms of water. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not forms of God, each of them is God. So, while these illustrations may give us a picture of the Trinity, the picture is not entirely accurate. An infinite God cannot be fully described by a finite illustration.

The doctrine of the Trinity has been a divisive issue throughout the entire history of the Christian church. While the core aspects of the Trinity are clearly presented in God’s Word, some of the side issues are not as explicitly clear. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God—but there is only one God. That is the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. Beyond that, the issues are, to a certain extent, debatable and non-essential. Rather than attempting to fully define the Trinity with our finite human minds, we would be better served by focusing on the fact of God’s greatness and His infinitely higher nature. “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” (Romans 11:33-34).”

To read the complete article click here: “What does the Bible teach about the Trinity?“