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JU Basic Faith: The Trinity Print E-mail
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Preparation:
  • Scripture readings from: John 1
  • Spend some time in prayer for the lesson and each student—that God will open their hearts and minds and teach them from His Word.

Introduction:
The topic of the trinity is a difficult concept to understand. In fact, it is something that we will not be able to grasp completely while we are on this earth. However, this is a vital truth that we need to discuss as it is part of the foundation for our beliefs. Encourage the students to not be too frustrated if they cannot comprehend this. Sometimes there are times that we need to simply accept ideas as truth on faith and trust that we will understand them later (maybe not until heaven, but later nonetheless). Discuss:
  • What is the idea of the trinity? (that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three separate beings but yet they are all one)
  • Can you understand this idea at all? If so, have them explain to you what it is that they understand about it.

Say:
Where did such an idea ever come from? It is so utterly outlandish by human standards; it would seem unlikely that any man would have ever thought it up. That leads us to suspect that God Himself might have revealed it, and that is exactly what we find in Scripture. While the word trinity nowhere appears in the Bible, the idea is found there from beginning to end. There is no question about it—the doctrine of the trinity is divinely revealed Biblical truth. Our one God exists in three persons.

Discuss:
  • Have any of you heard different ways that the idea of the trinity has been explained? (allow them to give some ideas, but here are some to use as examples if they haven’t already heard them.)
  • One way that is sometimes used is a three leaf clover—it has three distinct parts, yet is still one plant.
  • Another is an egg—one egg contains a yolk, white and a shell.
  • Another is that the same person can be a daughter/son, mother/father, sister/brother all at the same time.

It’s nice to have these analogies in order to try to help our human minds understand this topic but the fact of the matter is: it doesn’t matter what analogy we use, it will eventually break down. In the end, we simply believe it because God revealed it. God exists as three persons.

Activity:
This is a simplistic activity, but it is just to get the students thinking about the fact that we can begin to wrap our minds around at least part of the idea of the trinity. As the ice cubes melt, the water will be in two different states at the same time—solid and liquid. And although we can’t really see it, we know that the liquid water will eventually turn into a gaseous state. (that’s 3 in one! )

Take a few cubes of ice and put it into a pan. Give it a little time to melt (you may want to move on and come back to this in a few minutes). After it is partially melted (not completely) ask:
  • What state is the water in? It is in two states—solid and liquid
  • What do we know is happening to the liquid water (I know this is starting to sound a lot like a science class!)? (it is turning into a gaseous state)
  • How can we relate this to the idea of the trinity? (just like the water is in three states all at the same time, so God is God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit all at the same time)

Once again, realize that every analogy breaks down—we still have to accept the concept of the trinity on faith, but sometimes it helps to have a bit of a visual so we can BEGIN to wrap our minds around it.


Digging Deeper:
Say: As it was said earlier, the word trinity is not found anywhere in the Bible (that’s just a word humans came up with so that we would have a term for it) but that doesn’t mean that the idea of the trinity isn’t found in the Bible. Let’s look at a few verses that help to show us where the idea came from:

The divinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The main way that makes it impossible to deny the existance of the trinity is that all three are referred in the Bible as being divine:
  • First, the Father is called God. For instance, in Galatians 1:1, he is referred to as “God the Father” (Galatians 1:1), or “God our Father” (Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2). His deity is unquestioned.
  • The Son is also referred to as God. Jesus even permitted Thomas to call Him “my Lord and my God” (John 20:28). All throughout the gospels, He exercises the prerogatives of deity such as forgiving sins, raising the dead, and judging all men. He also accepts worship reserved only for God. In fact, the Father Himself addressed His Son as God (have them look it up, but this is huge!!): “But about the Son He says, YOUR THRONE, O GOD, WILL LAST FOREVER AND EVER” (Hebrews 1:8).
  • But the Holy Spirit is also called God. His name is “the Spirit of God” (Genesis 1:2). He too possesses the attributes of deity and performs the works of deity. While He is the Spirit who proceeds from the Father (John 15:26), He is at the same time called “the Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8:9). He is coequal with both the Father and the Son. The Apostle Peter clearly viewed Him as God when he said to Ananias, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? . . . You have not lied to men, but to God” (Acts 5:3-4).
  • Creating the World. All three were involved in creation: the Father (Genesis 1:1); the Son (John 1:3,10; Colossians 1:16); and the Spirit (Genesis 1:2, Psalm 104:30). Also it says in John 1:1 that the Word (meaning Jesus—remember learning that in the first session?) was with God and WAS God! If all three created, then God the Creator must exist in three persons.

Say: We’ve looked at a lot of verses all over the Bible—in the Old and New Testaments and there are a lot more that we didn’t look at. These verses just show how the idea of the trinity is entwined all throughout the Bible even though the word is never used or is the idea ever explained in a concise manner.

Application:
Take some time to write down a new revelation that you have had about the trinity today. What does having knowledge about the trinity do for your relationship with God? How can getting to know each person of the trinity help your relationship with Him? What can you do to get to know each one better? (read the Bible specifically looking for each person of God).

Close it out:

Pray together and for each other!
 
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