Remember to Vote

In the political world outside the church there are several seats that are tightly contested. It is in a Christian's best interests to have Godly-minded people in government; that goes without saying. I'd like to encourage everyone to remember to vote and pray that God's will would be done in government.

Busy Times

Time marches on and some things become more important as other slip into the background. I've been taking a break from posting (as I see others have as well). I do plan on resuming sometime in the near future so keep this page bookmarked.

God bless,
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The Trinity Doctrine

I had a long conversation with some Jehovah's Witnesses yesterday. They've been to my door before and I had taken one of their books to see what they believe. I was surprised to see that they do not believe in the Trinity, so I asked the guy about it yesterday. He had been a Lutheran before his conversion to JW, so he knew my beliefs about the subject. He said that they think Jesus is the Arch-Angel Michael, and created by God, and the Spirit is just God's "tool" or his "hands."

I'd like to discuss the Trinity doctrine as taught in the Apostolic Lutheran Church ("these three are one") and how we might respond to someone who says that the trinity is a false doctrine.

There is a wealth of material from the internet (not the least of which is the Wikipedia article on the Trinity). I've found many texts that appear to support the Trinity and some that appear to not (but still do, in my estimation). Source: EveryStudent

• "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!" (Deut. 6:4)
• "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God." (Isa. 45:5)
• There is no God but one. (1Cor. 8:4)
• And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Matt. 3:16-17)
• "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19)
• Jesus said: "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30)
• "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)
• "He who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me." (John 12:45)
• If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (Rom. 8:9)
• "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 1:20)
• And the angel answered and said to her [Mary], "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)
• [Jesus speaking to His disciples] "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you." ... "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." (John 14:16-17, 23)

There are many others as well. I looked up a few others:

• Colossions 2:9 "For in him [Jesus] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
• 1 John 5:7 (very explicit, but the source of this text is called into question by many scholars)
• John 1:1, 1:14
• Isaiah 44:6 followed by Revelations 1:17-18 infers that Jesus was God

"My Father is Greater than I"

Jesus saw the Father as greater than himself simply out of humility and because he had made himself "a little lower than the angels." He was also fulfilling the law that was given not to him but to us who are truly lower than God the Father. If he had denied that the Father was greater than him, he would have broken the law and thus failed in his objective, namely to fulfill the law for us who were unable to do so.

Jesus: Created or Begotten?

If Jesus was created (as the JW's said) then the bible would not have said he was "begotten." If he is truly begotten, then he is of the same substance as God the Father (how could he be anythign different?) and thus must be God.

Jesus: Inside or Outside Time?

If Jesus were created, then he must have a beginning, and must be subject to time. God is outside of time, of course, and sees us as if we are in one of those snow globes you turn upside down to see the snow fall: nothing inside of time affects Him. To say that Jesus was created diminishes him to being subject to time, and I can't accept anything that diminishes my Savior.

What are your thoughts on the Trinity? Post them in the comments!