1.1 The Trinity

1.1 The Trinity

1. What is the Trinity?

   • A unique belief in Christianity.
   • There is only one God but he exists in 3 'persons'
     • God the Father
     • God the Son
     • God the holy Spirit

2. The Nicene Creed

   • A statement of belief that many Christians recite in church
   • SOA- 'We believe in one God, the father, the Almighty, maker of heaven& earth [...] We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father [...] We believe in the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father & the Son.
     • Shows that the Father is the creator of the universe & is 'Almighty'
     • shows that the Son is Jesus Christ who is the 'Lord' & son of the father.
     • Shows the Holy Spirit comes from the Father & the Son

3. The 'oneness' of God

   • There is one God. there is 3 different persons, each of whom is different to the other 2 but each of whom is fully God.

4. The persons of the Trinity

   • SOA: 'As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. at that moment heaven was opened, & he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove & alighting on him. & a voice sad, "this is my Con, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (MATTHEW 3:16-17)
     • show the Trinity working together as one

5. How is the Trinity reflected in worship & belief today?

   • God the Father: They pray to him in the knowledge that he cares about them.
     • 'This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name ..."' (MATTHEW 6:9)
   • God the Son: They follow his example. The worship is often happy & joyful.
   • God the Holy spirit: Churches such as the Pentecostal Church will ask the Holy Spirit to enable them to worship using spiritual gifts.
   • They believe the Trinity is a model of mutual love & perfect unity.This helps christians understand more about relationships.
     • SOA: 'Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father's glory. blaze, Spirit, Blaze, set our hearts on fire." (SHINE, JESUS, SHINE BY GRAHAM KENDRICK)
     • SOA: 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty [...} god in three persons, blesses Trinity!' (HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, BY REGINALD HEBER)
       • • QUESTIONS: B Explain 2 Christian beliefs about the Trinity. (4) C Explain 2 reasons why the concept of the Trinity is important for christians. (5)