The Trinity, or idea that God exsists in three parts yet is together as one being may be one fo the most dificult ideas to understand in the Bible. Let me preface this by saying that I am no great theologian just a simple man trying to bring to you the best understanding of this concept as I see it. As always I welcome your comments and input as we walk throug this study.
Let us first look at the often over-looked 3rd member of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit (sometimes called the Holy Ghost).
Matthew 3:11
"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire
Luke 4
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
John 1:33
33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:4
4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
1 Corinthians 2:12-14
12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
John 14:26
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 20:21-22
21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
Acts 5:32
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
2 Peter 1:20-21
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
I realize that this is a lot of text to take in and digest at once, but I do believe that it is important to take a sampling of Biblical Text about the Holy Spirit as the core of our study. It is equally important to understand that while the Holy Spirit is refered to mainly in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit has been in existance for all of eternity, just as the Father and the Son have been. We will explore this more as we dive into the study of the other two parts of the Trinity.
Proof that the Holy Spirit has been around before New Testament time can be found all the way back in Genesis 1, "the spirit of God was floating over the waters." This verse is widely accepted to be speaking of the Holy Spirit. Some believe that the prophets of the Old Testament received the word of God through the Holy Spirit.
If we were to break the Trinity down and study it by the "tasks" each branch completes, the Holy Spirit might well be characterized as the delivery and communication center. Two of the most important tasks that are associated with the Holy Spirit are the bringing of spiritual gifts and the ability for a Christian to divine God's will through an internal compass or guidance.
Isaiah 11:2-3, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Ephesians 4:11-12, and Romans 12:6-8 each give a listing of Spiritual gifts. Each of these portions of scripture makes it clear that Spiritual gifts are to be used to build the body of Christ, or the church. The Holy Spirit is the hand of God that imparts these gifts to the people of God.
The second of these important "jobs" the Holy Spirit performs is guiding the life of Christians. The Holy Spirit "lives inside us" as a guide to the heart of man. When we pray for direction and feel that we are being directed by God to complete a task or to take a particular path, it is the Holy Spirit that is guiding us. While it may seem that the Holy Spirit is serving man, it is important to remember that man was created to bring glory to God. The Holy Spirit provides man the means by which to complete this task.
Let me reiderate again, that this is, in my opinion, one of the most dificult ideas to understand in all of Christianity. In the days to come we will look at the role of the Father and the Son and the idea of the Trinity as Three-in-one. I encourage you to comment, clarify, and discuss this devotion by leaving comments. May God Bless you.
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