“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1, NKJV). How does this opening line automatically make the Bible and Darwinian evolution mutually exclusive? 1 The book of Genesis opens with God already in action as Creator. No explanation for, or introduction of, God is given. None of the Bible writers thought that God needed … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 19:4; Job 38:4–7; Deut. 32:10, 11; Psalm 19; John 1:1–13; Rom. 5:12; Isa. 66:22. Memory Text: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16, NKJV). Key … Continue reading –>
In the doctrine of the Trinity, we do not find three different divine roles displayed by one Person (that is modalism). Nor are there three gods in a cluster (that is tritheism orpolytheism). The one God (“He”) is also, and equally, “They,” and “They” are always together, always closely cooperating. The Holy Spirit executes the will of both … Continue reading –>
Guillaume Djossou Giving one’s life to God can be a life-or-death decision in some regions of the world. As a lay pastor and church planter working near the city of Cotonou, Benin, I saw this first hand. When Ann and her husband became Adventist Christians, Ann’s father, a fetish priest in Benin, cursed her with … Continue reading –>
Joe Manning, the Bible teacher, decided he would ask his tenth grade class to come up with a visible object lesson to explain the concept of the Trinity. He gave them three days to submit their contributions. Then he collected the fifteen papers and carefully studied them at home, hoping to give some recognition to the … Continue reading –>
Key Thought: The doctrine of the Trinity is a Scriptural truth that God exists in three distinct persons with different functions, yet they work together as One.. [Teaching Pan for “The Triune God” January 4, 2012] 1. Have a volunteer read Deuteronomy 6:4. A. Ask class members to share a short thought on what … Continue reading –>
The Gospel of John gives direct and conscious attention to the unique nature of God. John seems to be fully aware of the oneness, yet “threeness,” of God. 1 Read Christ’s words in John 14–16 and count the number of references to the three Persons of God. How do these passages help us understand the reality of this … Continue reading –>
However clear the Bible is that God is one (echad), the Bible also talks about the plurality of Persons. Scholars and Bible students through the millennia have seen in many Old Testament texts powerful evidence of the plural nature of God. This truth, as with many others, is more fully revealed in the New Testament. Read Genesis 1:26, … Continue reading –>
Who can look at those photos from the Hubble Space Telescope and not marvel at the beauty of the cosmos? Astonished at the famous photo of the “Sombrero Galaxy,” one writer said: “How can we begin to fathom the knowledge, the power, the reasoning, the truths, and the purposes that went into the Sombrero Galaxy … Continue reading –>
If God can be “one,” with the two Persons of the Father and the Son, adding a third Person to the Godhead should not particularly add more difficulty. We are talking here about the Holy Spirit.1 Read Genesis 1:2. What does this tell us about the role of the Holy Spirit, who appears so early in … Continue reading –>
Jonathan: “Dad, where are we going?” Father: “Son, we’re going to the Johnsons’ house.” Jonathan: “What? Why aren’t we going to church?” Father: “We are, Jonathan. We’re going to church at the Johnsons’ today.”1 Jonathan: “But why, Dad? Why aren’t we going to the same church where we’ve always gone?” Father: “It’s closed today, Son. … Continue reading –>
The deity of the Father is scarcely, if ever, in dispute. Those who question the Trinity often challenge the deity of Christ. Were Christ anything but eternal and fully divine, the plan of salvation would be seriously compromised (see Thursday’s lesson). 1 How does Paul, once a rigid Pharisee, talk about the deity of Christ? Phil. 2:6. … Continue reading –>
