45: 38 In what ways does the Holy Spirit work in the church? We also tend toward functional Unitarianism because we are unsure of how to speak of the Triune God. Was the God of law separate from the God of grace? The language of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, etched in Scripture and creed, remains indispensable for our efforts to speak faithfully of God. If we can express our faith using only “God,” we have become functional Unitarians. In a similar manner the one invisible God is experienced in various modes. Harry Truman said, “I’m a Baptist because I think that sect gives the common man the shortest and most direct approach to God.” We are Harry Trumans run amok. Usually the church takes up a theological issue only when there is great controversy — a time when a lack of consensus on an issue embroils the church in an intractable debate. When we see the doctrine of the Trinity as an expression of our deepest beliefs, the best account of the reality of God revealed in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will begin to teach it, express it and live it. “And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ ” — 1 Samuel 3:10, © 2021 Presbyterian Mission Agency   Privacy Policy | GDPR Privacy Policy | Legal Notices. Presbyterians believe that the doctrine of the Trinity is important for a number of reasons. common people who act like theologians in the shops and streets. (One of the participants was “Santa Claus,” from Myra, Turkey, where he was known as Bishop Nicholas. Thomas Jefferson, for example, embraced Unitarianism after concluding that the doctrine of the Trinity was mathematically inane; he maintained that one plus one plus one always equals three. He did not realize that monotheism is basic to the Christian statement of belief, the Nicene Creed. We are more aware than ever of the growing numbers of Hindus and Buddhists in our midst, not to mention Sikhs and various African religions. The three terms must have an inner relationship. This symbol also conveys the idea that there are three simultaneous expressions of the divine substance. Don’t all people of faith worship the same God? In ordinations that take place in almost every Presbyterian congregation, elders, deacons and ministers are asked: Do you trust in Jesus Christ your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and Head of the Church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit? The subheading reads: The Trinity is not an optional 'extra' to God; it is the very nature of God as revealed to us in Scripture. The Trinity is not an optional “extra” to God. “And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ ” — 1 Samuel 3:10, © 2021 Presbyterian Mission Agency   Privacy Policy | GDPR Privacy Policy | Legal Notices. … About this the church must have no doubt: The doctrine of the Trinity proclaims to us the very heart of God, made known to us and to the world in the self-sacrificial love of Jesus Christ and poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Presbyterians have come to make a lot of Advent and they occasionally observe Lent, but they usually overlook the Trinity season of the church year. During the Old Testament act there was God the Father, during the gospel act there was God the Son, and after both of these came the Holy Spirit. They are products of disciplined reflection, yet are vivid and rooted in Scripture. Christians were in a dilemma as to what to believe. They deny the divinity of Jesus, believing he is fully human and separate from God. In transforming power the Holy Spirit renews and sanctifies us, draws us into new communion with God and each other, awakens our praise and worship, and equips us for the service of God in the world. We emphasize that God has revealed God's Self as the Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, decided that the question of the relationship between the Creator and Jesus must be resolved. There is a profound complexity in the orthodox Christian doctrine of God, but it is not incomprehensible. The Westminster Confession: Yesterday and Today' written by Gordon H. Clark and read by a professional reader. Muslims and Jews have presumed, as have some Christians, that Christians worship three separate gods. But it cannot be understood to claim that one person of the Trinity is creator, a second redeemer and the third sustainer. Further, our partners in interfaith dialogue routinely tell us that honesty is essential for a true dialogue. “The doctrine has often confused the thinking of the individual Christian as much as it has clarified and strengthened it,” she observes. What is called the Nicene Creed contains an additional paragraph about the Holy Spirit that was added in 381. $12.95 $9.07: Gordon H. Clark Trade paperback, 284 pages. It is the very nature of God as revealed to us in Scripture. There are many caricatures of this doctrine. We believe that the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ and the sanctifying and healing work of the Holy Spirit are necessary for us to be reconciled to God. Christadelphians believe God is one indivisible unity, not three distinct persons existing in one God. The vast majority of Presbyterians agree with the 1985 General Assembly’s statement on the use of language in worship: “Our language about God should be as intentionally diverse and varied as is that of the Bible and our theological tradition.” Yet often we hear only, “God, God, God.” Attention to God as Trinity and to the words of Scripture and the tradition provide us with a more faithful vocabulary that is also richer and more varied than current practice. The Apostle Paul might have said: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who consoles us in all our affliction, for just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so our consolation is abundant through Christ, sealed in our hearts through the power and constant presence of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 1:3–5, 21–22). It is the very nature of God as revealed to us in Scripture. We believe in the Triune God – God who creates, Jesus who redeems, and the Holy Spirit who sustains us. The disregard of this season may be due to the difficulty of harmonizing a reasonable faith with what appears to be an irrational doctrine, the doctrine of the Trinity. Yes. . Electromagnetic force provides a similar analogy: No one has seen this basic energy of the universe, and yet we witness electricity in distinct ways: We experience it as shock if we put our finger in an outlet. . Pretty much every church in the world embraces the Nicene Creed. We have two main sources of inspiration and guidance in our faith - The Bible and Creeds and Confessions. What Do Presbyterians Believe? Consider being a part of reclaiming the doctrine of the Trinity by studying a draft paper, “The Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing,” prepared by a working group authorized by the 217th General Assembly (2000). 41: 35 What do we mean by original sin? When dramatic events occur in our lives, we find out what we really believe. Given its centrality in all the creeds and in the faith of the church, how could we ignore the Trinity? One group maintained that the Son and the Father were of the same substance (Greek homo-ousion), while another group argued that they were of a similar substance (homoi-ousion). “Ruling elders are so named not because they ‘lord it over’ the congregation, but because they are chosen by the congregation to discern,” says the Presbyterian Book of Order, which guides the structure of the church. This is quite different from seeing it as light in a light bulb or feeling it as heat from a stove. 'God in three persons, blessed Trinity' is one way of speaking about the several ways we experience God." What is a Cumberland Presbyterian and what do they believe? These masks were called personas, which translated literally means “through which the sound comes.” Sabellius, a Christian teacher in the third century, believed that a succession of divine impersonations was sent forth from heaven to earth during three acts in the cosmic theater. What Do Presbyterians Believe? The gathering at Nicaea is called the first ecumenical council because representatives came from churches in Asia, Africa and Europe. Mark Gilbert Mark grew up as a committed Roman Catholic, but despite this did not hear the gospel until he started university. God – God exists in the trinity of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.. Christ – Presbyterians believe that Christ is the Son of God, the revealer of God, and the Savior of humanity.. Holy Spirit – the presence of God in the world and in the believer.. Bible – the inspired word of God. (For a fuller explanation, please see below * and **). . Creator/Redeemer/Sustainer is a wonderful description of the work of God on our behalf. Although humans do not have a full understanding of God, there is a reasonable basis for belief in the triune God. God’s creative work is expressed all around us. 46: This is especially true regarding baptism in the name of the Triune God, one of the few things that connects Christian believers around the world. Gordon H. Clark | The Trinity Foundation. A common Trinitarian substitute, Creator/Christ/Spirit, fails the first two tests. She finds this analogy of A. H. Mollegen especially helpful: “The light (the Father) shines through the colored slide (the Son) to cast an image (the Holy Spirit) on the screen (the church).”.

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