Following In Jesus Christ: Spiritual Gifts

SPIRITUAL GIFTS: Skills & Abilities that Only God can give us through His Holy Spirit to All christians, which equips us as christians to serve God in the christian community. _______________________________ A Biblical Word for Salvation:
The Just Live by Faith

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,^[a] for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. [Rom.1:16 N.K.J.V.] ___________________________________________________________________ Our God freely offers us eternal life in Jesus Christ. But understand the exact process by which that life becomes available to us is sometimes difficult. Therefore, God paints various pictures to us in our Bibles to help us grasp the concept, each one by it's own unique emphasis. Like "Salvation" Let's look at it's concept within it's own meaning. ____________________________________________________________________SALVATION
The acutely dynamic act of snatching others by force from serious peril. In its most basic sense, salvation is the saving of a life from death or harm. Scripture, particularly the New Testament, extends salvation to include deliverance from the penalty and power of sin.
Old Testament For Israelite faith, salvation never carried a purely secular sense of deliverance from death or harm. Because God and no other is the source of salvation, any saving act—even when the focus is preservation of life or release from national oppression—is a spiritual event. The primary saving event in the Old Testament is the Exodus (Exodus 14:13) which demonstrated both God's power to save and God's concern for His oppressed people (Exodus 34:6-7). Israel recounted God's deliverance from Egyptian slavery in the Passover ritual (Exodus 12:1-13), in sermon (Nehemiah 9:9-11), and in psalms (for example, Psalms 74:12-13; Psalms 78:13,Psalms 78:42-54; Psalms 105:26-38). The retelling of the Exodus event and of God's provision during the wilderness years (Nehemiah 9:12-21; Psalms 78:14-29; Psalms 105:39-41; Psalms 114:8) provided a precedent for sharing other stories of national and even personal deliverance (Psalms 40:10; Psalms 71:15).
Some argue that the Old Testament does not link salvation with the forgiveness of sins. The recurring cycle of national sin, foreign oppression, national repentance, and salvation by a God-sent “judge,” however, witnesses the linkage (Judges 3:7-9,Judges 3:12,Judges 3:15; Judges 4:1-4; Judges 6:1,Judges 6:Judges 6:12; also Nehemiah 9:27; Psalms 106:34-46). God's sending of a deliverer is in effect God's act of forgiveness of the penitent (compare Psalms 79:9; Psalms 85:4). Psalms 51:12 perhaps provides the best Old Testament case for personal salvation from sin.
In the Old Testament, salvation primarily concerns God's saving acts within human history. The early prophets anticipated God's salvation to be realized in the earth's renewed fruitfulness and the rebuilding of the ruined cities of Israel (Amos 9:13-15). Salvation would extend to all nations who would stream to Zion for instruction in God's ways (Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-4; Zechariah 8:20-23). The prophets also hinted of a salvation that lies outside history (for example, Isaiah 51:6). The larger context of Isaiah 25:9 reveals that God's salvation embraces abundant life (Isaiah 25:6) and the end of death (Isaiah 25:7), tears, and disgrace (Isaiah 25:8).
Throughout most of the Old Testament, salvation is a corporate or community experience. The Psalms, however, are especially concerned with the salvation of the individual from the threat of enemies (Psalms 13:5; Psalms 18:2,Psalms 18:35; Psalms 24:5). Though the focus is negative—salvation involves foiling the enemies' wrongdoing—there are hints of a positive content of salvation that embraces prosperity (as in Psalms 18:35). The Psalms are especially interested in God's salvation of the “upright in heart” (Psalms 36:10) or righteous (Psalms 37:19-40) who rely on God for deliverance. Psalms 51:12 more than any other Old Testament text associates personal salvation with a conversion experience; renewed joy of salvation accompanies God's creation of a new heart and right spirit and assurance of God's abiding presence.
New Testament For convenience, salvation can be viewed from the two perspectives of Christ's saving work and the believer's experience of salvation.
Christ's saving work involves already completed, on-going, and future saving activity. Jesus' earthly ministry made salvation a present reality for His generation. Jesus' healing ministry effected salvation from disease (Mark 5:34; Mark 10:52; Luke 17:19). Jesus offered God's forgiveness to hurting people (Mark 2:5; Luke 7:50). He assured a repentant Zacchaeus that “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9). Through such encounters Jesus fulfilled the goal of His ministry: “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
The apex of Christ's completed work is His sacrificial death: Christ came to “give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45); Christ “entered once for all into the Holy Place,… with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12 NRSV); “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19 NRSV). Here ransom, redemption, and reconciliation are synonyms for salvation. With reference to Christ's atoning work, the believer can confess, “I was saved when Jesus died for me.”
Christ's present saving work primarily concerns Christ's role as mediator (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1). Christ's future saving work chiefly concerns Christ's coming again “to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him” (Hebrews 9:28 REB) and salvation from the wrath of God's final judgment (Romans 5:9-10).
Though Christ's sacrificial death is central, Christ's saving activity extends to the whole of His life, including His birth (Galatians 4:4-5), resurrection (Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:17), and ascension (Romans 8:34).
The believer's experience also offers a perspective for viewing salvation. The experience again embraces the past, present, and future. God's initial work in the believer's life breaks down into various scenes: conviction of sin (John 16:8); repentance (turning) from sin to God (Luke 15:7,Luke 15:10; 2 Corinthians 7:10); faith which involves commitment of one's whole life to Christ (John 3:16,John 3:36); confession of Christ as Lord (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:9-10). Scripture uses a wealth of images to describe this act: new birth (John 3:3; Titus 3:5); new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17); adoption (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:5); empowerment to be God's children (John 1:12); the status of “saints” (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1). This initial work in the believer's life is often termed justification. Justification, however, also embraces God's final judgment (Romans 2:13; Romans 3:20;Romans 3:30).
God's ongoing work in the believer's life concerns the process of maturing in Christ (Hebrews 2:3; 1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18), growing in Christ's service (1 Corinthians 7:20-22), and experiencing victory over sin through the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 7-8). Here sin remains a reality in the believer's life (Romans 7:1; 1 John 1:8-2:1). The believer is caught in between what God has begun and what God is yet to complete (Philippians 1:6; Philippians 2:12).
God's yet to be finished work in the lives of all believers is sometimes called glorification (Romans 8:17; Hebrews 2:10). Scripture, however, uses a wealth of terms for this future saving work: adoption (Romans 8:23); redemption (Luke 21:28; Romans 8:23; Ephesians 4:30); salvation (Romans 13:11; Hebrews 1:14; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5; 1 Peter 2:2); and sanctification (1 Thessalonians 5:23 God's future work involves more than the individual; God's future work extends to the renewal of heaven and earth.
Some Contested Issues (1) The relationship between faith and works: Scripture repeatedly affirms that salvation is the free gift of God appropriated through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:28). No individual merits salvation by fulfillment of God's law (Romans 3:20). Saving faith is, however, obedient faith (Romans 1:5; Romans 16:26; 1 Peter 1:2). We are saved for good works (Ephesians 2:10.Faith that does not result in acts of Christian love is not salvific but demonic (James 2:14-26, especially James 2:19).
(2) The perseverance of the saints: Assurance of salvation is grounded in confidence that God is able to finish the good work begun in us (Philippians 1:6), that God who sacrificed His Son for sinners (Romans 5:8-9) will not hold back anything necessary to save one of his children (Romans 8:32), and that nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ (Romans 8:35-39). Confidence in God's ability to keep those who have entrusted their lives to Christ is not, however, an excuse for any believer's inactivity or moral failure (Romans 6:12-13; Ephesians 2:10).
____________________________________________________________________ SPIRITUAL GIFTS

The skills and abilities which God gives through His Spirit to all Christians, which equip Christians to serve God in the Christian community.

In the Old Testament, the Spirit of the Lord was given to selected leaders rather than to all of God's people. When the Spirit came to an individual, He brought with Him one or more gifts which equipped the individual to serve God by serving Israel. Examples of this are: Bezaleel, who was given the gift of craftsmanship (Exodus 31:2-3); Othniel, who was equipped to be a judge (Judges 3:9-10); Gideon, who was given military skills (Judges 6:34); Samson, who was given physical strength (Judges 14:6,Judges 14:19); Saul, who was given political skills (1 Samuel 10:6); and Micah, who was given prophetic gifts (Micah 3:8).

These Old Testament stories are the background for the Christian understanding of spiritual gifts. The Christian view of spiritual gifts begins with Jesus. He was the unique bearer of the Spirit (Mark 1:10). The Spirit directed and empowered Him for His ministry (Luke 4:14-18). Jesus promised His disciples that they, too, would receive the Spirit one day and that the Spirit would guide them (see Mark 13:11; Luke 11:13).

These promises were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47). The Spirit was given to all Christians, not just to selected leaders (Acts 2:3-4,Acts 2:17-18). Peter made it quite clear that the Spirit would continue to be given to all who accepted the Christian gospel (Acts 2:38).

Paul's letters reveal that this continued to be true in all the churches; every Christian was given the gift of the Spirit, so that Paul could write: “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9 TEV). When the Spirit came into a person's life, He brought with Him a gift, or gifts, which that person could use to serve God. “Each one, as a good manager of God's different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God” (1 Peter 4:10 TEV).

Like Peter, Paul believed that every Christian had a spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). Neither Paul nor any other New Testament writer suggested that some Christians might be without gifts; all Christians are given gifts. Paul always set his discussion of gifts in the context of the church. In our day many people tend to think individualistically; it is easy to do this with reference to spiritual gifts. This can lead us to become arrogant about our gifts (“I have the gift of evangelism”), or else to be ashamed of our gifts (“My gift is only working with children”). Paul spoke of gifts in terms of the whole church, not in terms of individuals only. The church, he said, is the body of Christ; each Christian is a member (eye, ear, leg); and each member has its appropriate ability (to see, or hear, or walk). This understanding leaves no room for arrogance or shame concerning our gifts.

In his writings Paul referred to about twenty different gifts, including such things as preaching, teaching, and leadership. Some interpreters have suggested that by putting Paul's lists of gifts together, we get a comprehensive list of spiritual gifts. This seems unlikely, as we today can recognize some gifts which Paul did not mention, such as the gifts of music, of working with youth, and of counseling.

Some Christians today tend to want to distinguish spiritual gifts from natural abilities, but this distinction seems not to have occurred to Paul, for he included both in his lists (see, for example, Romans 12:6-8). His assumption seems to have been that whatever skills a Christian has are given to him by God and are to be used in God's service. What matters, then, is that Christians discover what their gifts are and then develop them.

Which specific gift is the most valuable one? Paul's answer to this is clear and emphatic: the one gift all Christians should have, love (1 Corinthians 12:31-13:1). Love is the ultimate spiritual gift. If we have all other gifts and lack love, we have nothing; if we have love and nothing else, we have everything. Paul said that love fulfills the entire law (Romans 13:10; compare Matthew 22:39-40). Love makes possible the fellowship of the church and guarantees that gifts will be used unselfishly. Love is the greatest gift given to us by the God who is love.
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HOLY SPIRIT:

The mysterious third Person of the Trinity through whom God acts, reveals His will, empowers individuals, and discloses His personal presence in the Old and New Testament.

Old Testament The term “Holy Spirit” in the Old Testament is found only in Psalms 51:11; Isaiah 63:10-11. References to the spirit of God, however, are abundant. In one sense the Spirit of God is depicted as a mighty wind, Hebrew using the same word ruach for wind, breath, and spirit. During the time of the Exodus, God deployed this wind to part the sea thus enabling the Israelites to pass through safely and elude Pharaoh and his army (Exodus 14:21). God used this agent in two ways: as a destructive force that dries up the waters (Hosea 13:15), or as the power of God in gathering clouds to bring the refreshing rain (1 Kings 18:45). The spirit exercised control over the chaotic waters at the beginning of creation (Genesis 1:2; Genesis 8:1; Compare Psalms 33:6; Job 26:13). Of the eighty-seven times that the Spirit is described as wind, thirty-seven describe the wind as the agent of God, mostly baneful, and ever strong and intense. This property of the Spirit clearly reflects the power of God. An additional quality of the Spirit is that of mysteriousness. Psalms 104:3 demonstrates that the Spirit as wind is able to transport God on its wings to the outer limits of the earth. No one can tell where He has been or where He is going. Power and mystery state the nature of God.

God's Spirit can be expressed as an impersonal force, or it can manifest itself in individuals. The Old Testament has numerous examples when God inspired the prophets indirectly by the Spirit. The prime revelation of the Spirit in the Old Testament, in the personal sense, is by means of prophecy. Joseph's dreams are perceived to be divinely inspired (Genesis 41:38); King David, as a mouthpiece for God, proclaimed that “the Spirit of the Lord speaks” (2 Samuel 23:2); and Zechariah announced the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,' saith the Lord of Hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Much like the power of the wind, the Spirit equipped the heroes of Israel with extraordinary strength (Judges 14:6). The judges are described as being Spirit-possessed individuals as in the case of Othniel (Judges 3:10). Sometimes, The Spirit came upon individuals mightily, so as to alter their normal behavior (1 Samuel 10:16; 1 Samuel 19:23-24).

The Spirit is also the ultimate origin of all mental and spiritual gifts, as it is in the underlying inspiration of the men of wisdom (Exodus 31:1-6; Isaiah 11:2; Job 4:15; Job 32:8). Not only did the prophets benefit from the influence of the Spirit, but also the Spirit will be shed upon the people of God (Isaiah 44:3) and upon all the people (Joel 2:28). Ezekiel and Isaiah express the idea of the Spirit more than any other Old Testament source. Many of Ezekiel's allusions to the Spirit are in regard to Israel's restoration in the future. The reception of the new Spirit, prophesied in Ezekiel and Jeremiah, is dependent upon repentance (Ezekiel 18:31) and is associated with the creation of a new heart (Jeremiah 31:31-34). This prophetic foreshadowing, in light of the individual, sporadic, and temporary manifestation of the Spirit in the Old Testament, looked forward to a time when the Spirit of God would revitalize His chosen people, empower the Messiah, and be lavishly poured out on all humankind.

New Testament When John the Baptist burst on the scene proclaiming the advent of the kingdom of God, the spirit-inspired prophetic voice returned after a 400-year absence. Zechariah and Elizabeth, John's parents, were informed that their son will “be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb” (Luke 1:15). Similarly, the angel Gabriel visited Mary with the news that “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest will overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

A watershed in biblical history occurred at the event of Jesus' baptism when He was anointed by the Spirit of God (Luke 3:22). The Holy Spirit was then responsible for thrusting Jesus out into the wilderness to undergo temptation (Luke 4:1-13). Luke has many more references to the Holy Spirit than do the other synoptic accounts. This can be accounted for by Luke's theological interests which are extended in the Acts of the Apostles, which has been rightly named “The Acts of the Holy Spirit” because of the prominence given to the Spirit.

All apostolic writers witnessed to the reality of the Spirit in the church; however, the apostle Paul, who wrote more than any other author, offers the most theological reflection on the subject. The main chapters to consult are Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 2:1; 1 Corinthians 12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:1; and Galatians 5:1.

Johannine theology is rich in its doctrine of the Spirit. In the Gospel of John, the Spirit possesses Christ (John 1:32-33); is indicative of the new birth (John 3:1-16); will come upon Jesus' departure (John 16:7-11); and will endow the believer after the resurrection (John 20:22). The Christian community is anointed by the Spirit (1 John 2:20); and the Spirit assures the believer of the indwelling presence of Jesus (1 John 3:24). In the prophetic Book of Revelation, John, in Old Testament fashion, depicted himself as a prophet inspired by the Spirit. ____________________________________________________________________ God:

The personal Creator worthy of human worship because of His holy nature and His perfect love revealed in creating the universe, electing and redeeming His people, and providing eternal salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.

God is unique in nature. No person, object, or idea can be compared to God. Anything said about God must be based on His revelation of Himself to us. Anything said about God must be said in human terms, the only terms we have and understand. The reality of God is always much greater than human minds can understand or express.

God as the Bible's Primary Subject The Bible and history begin with God (Genesis 1:1). The last chapter of the Bible describes God as the “Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13 NRSV). All the way through Scripture God is primary. For Christians the primacy of God is reassuring, liberating, and instructive. It reassures us that God controls all existence. It liberates us to know the loving, redeeming God seeks to set us free. It instructs us to be able to look for signs of God throughout His universe.

God as Present with Us God is present in His world in a unique manner. He is never separated from any part of His creation. As spirit, God has the perfect capability of being present everywhere in the world at once. The psalmist exclaimed, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there” (Psalms 139:7-8). The prophet looked for the Messiah to be named Emmanuel, meaning, “God with us”; and Matthew reported that God fulfilled that promise in Jesus (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). The end time will make the presence of God even more clear: God will live with His people (Revelation 21:). Atheists affirm the total absence of God, saying God does not exist, but most human experience affirms a sense of the divine within the reality of life. In some mysterious way God is immanent, that is, He is present in the day-to-day human existence. He enters into personal relationships with the people who inhabit His world.

The Bible speaks of God's presence in two major ways: in space and in relationships. Theologians used the term omnipresence, derived from Latin, to speak of God's presence everywhere in all the world's space. Moses experienced that presence on a wilderness mountain (Exodus 3:1); Isaiah, in the Jerusalem Temple (Isaiah 6:1); and Paul, on an international highway (Acts 9:1). Most often the Bible speaks in terms of God being present in relationships. He called Israel to be His people (Exodus 19:3-6). He appeared to Elijah in a “still, small voice” (1 Kings 19:12). Most of all God appeared Person to person in the human flesh of His Son Jesus.

God as Mystery Revealed in Christ The personal presence of God in Jesus Christ is the central and normative source of knowledge about God. Christ is known today through the witness of inspired Scripture and through the personal witness of the Holy Spirit. Still, what is revealed is the mystery of Christ. Even as it is revealed, God's revelation in Jesus Christ remains mysterious (Romans 16:25-26; Ephesians 3:1-10; Colossians 1:24-27; Colossians 4:2-4). Faith believes that what remains hidden in mystery is totally consistent with what is revealed in Christ.

Revelation of Christ in the form of Bible narrative allows us to describe God but not to define Him. Perhaps the closest we can come to a definition is that God is the holy Being who is love in servant form. This rises out of Bible statements: “the Lord our God is holy” (Psalms 99:9); “God is love” (1 John 4:8,1 John 4:16). These contain partial descriptions, not definitions. The norm for a definition comes in Jesus, who said, “but I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27 NRSV). Thus Christian preaching echoes Paul: “we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord; and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake” (2 or. Luke 4:5 NRSV).

God's Unique Nature God is the only God. He is not simply the greatest of many gods—He is the only true God. God is the living God. This separates Him from all other gods and idols, which are merely forms humans have created in the image of things God created (Isaiah 41:22-24; Isaiah 44:9-20; Isaiah 46:1-2,Isaiah 46:6-7). “The Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king” (Jeremiah 10:10; compare 1 Thessalonians 1:9). Christians see this in Jesus, joining Peter in confessing, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

The living God is also Lord and Master. In English translations He is Lord in two ways. Lord spelled with small caps represents the Hebrew Yahweh, the personal name of God, by which He introduced Himself to Moses (Exodus 3:15; Exodus 6:3). See Names of God; Yahweh. Lord with lowercase letters represents the Hebrew ‘adonai and the Greek kurios. See Lord. This refers to the master, the boss, the owner, the person with authority over another. As Lord, God is sovereign Ruler over all the earth; He is the Creator and Judge of all persons. Thus the Hebrew identifies God as “the Lord God (Yahweh), the God of Israel” (Exodus 34:23). He is “Lord of lords” (Deuteronomy 10:17). The New Testament proclaims, “let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36 NIV). Thus Jesus receives the same titles as the Father, leading to a doctrine of the Trinity.

God is holy. The most basic word we have to describe God is holy. This is the unique quality of God's existence that marks Him off as separate and distinct from all else. Holiness includes the ideas of righteousness and purity, but it is more. Holiness belongs to God alone. It sets Him above us in majesty, power, authority, righteousness, and love. Persons or objects can be said to be holy only by virture of being drawn into relationship with God. (Compare Isaiah 5:16; Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:15-16.)

God is eternal. He has no beginning and no ending. All else begins and ends as an expression of the will of God, but God has always existed and will always continue to exist.

God is spirit. He is not material or physical as we are. As spirit, He does not have the limitations of material form. Spirit is the highest form of existence. It enables God to be with His people everywhere simultaneously. As spirit, God chose to humble Himself and take on the form of human flesh (Philippians 2:6-11).

God is love. “God is love itself” is the nearest humans can get to making a non-symbolic statement about God (1 John 4:8,1 John 4:16). His love is coordinated perfectly with His righteousness. God's love is always righteous, and His righteousness is always marked by love. Love is the primary motivation behind revelation (John 3:16)God's love is expressed as His mercy in forgiving sinners and in rescuing or blessing those who do not deserve His attention. His love is expressed in grace, the love and power of God reaching to those who do not deserve His blessing. God's grace is shown in forgiveness, conversion, blessing, nurturing, and chastising of individual persons. God's grace creates a response of love, faith, and obedience in the hearts of people whom He is trying to reach. His grace also works in and through His servants to give them guidance and power as they seek to carry out His will.

God is Father. The love of God finds supreme expression as Father. God is known in Scripture as Father in three separate senses that must not be confused: (1) He is Father of Jesus Christ in a unique sense—by incarnation (Matthew 11:25-27; Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6; 2 Peter 1:17); (2) He is Father of believers—by adoption or redemption (Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 11:2, Luke 11:13; Galatians 3:26); (3) He is Father of all persons—by creation (Psalms 68:5; Isaiah 64:8; Malachi 2:10; Matthew 5:45; 1 Peter 1:17).

God is intimate. He is not an impersonal force like gravity, exerting influence in some mechanical, automatic way. He has personal characteristics, just as we do. God is living, working in His world, and relating to His people. He is aware of what is going on, makes plans, and carries them out. He forms relationships and has purpose and will. He is a jealous God, taking himself seriously and insisting that others take Him seriously (Exodus 34:14; Nahum 1:2; 1 Corinthians 10:22). He wants more than divided loyalty or indifference from His people.

Attributes of God God has distinctive qualities that summarize what He is like.

God's glory refers to the weight or influence He carries in the universe and to the overwhelming brillance when He appears to people (Exodus 16:7-10; Isaiah 6:3; Ephesians 1:12-17; Hebrews 1:3). It is His presence in all His sovereign power, righteousness, and love. Sometimes the Bible describes the glory of God as a physical manifestation. Sometimes it is a spiritual perception as in a sense of tremendous awe before God. We see the glory of God when we are deeply impressed with a sense of His presence and power.

God's wisdom is His perfect awareness of what is happening in all of His creation in any given moment. This includes His knowledge of the final outcome of His creation and of how He will work from beginning to ending of human history (Job 11:4-12; Job 28:1-28; Psalms 139:1; Romans 11:1). It also includes His ability to know what is best for each and every one of His creatures. Sometimes this is called His omniscience.

God's power is His ability to accomplish His purposes and carry out His will in the world. He can do what needs to be done in any circumstance (Job 36:22-33; Isaiah 40:10-31; Daniel 3:1-30; Matthew 19:16-26; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25). This is sometimes called His omnipotence.

God's righteousness expresses itself in many ways (Exodus 2:23-25; Joshua 23:1-16; Psalms 71:14-21; Isaiah 51:5-8; Acts 10:34-35; Romans 3:5-26). He is the ultimate standard of right and wrong. He is faithful, constant, and unchanging in His character. He works for the right, seeking to extend righteousness and justice throughout the world. He defends the defenseless, helpless, victimized, and oppressed. He opposes evil through personal expressions of His wrath, anger, judgment, punishment, and jealousy. He sits in present and eternal judgment on those who do evil.

His attributes show that God is able to accomplish His will. Nothing can limit Him except limits He places on Himself.

God at Work in His World God is not an inert being far removed from the world. God is the personal God who cares about and works in the world He created. Creation was His first work but certainly not His last.

God works as Redeemer to save the sinful, rebellious human creatures and to renew His fallen creation. He makes salvation possible. His love makes Him a saving kind of God. He redeemed Israel in the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 1-15); through the prophets He promised a Messiah who would save His people, and in Jesus Christ provided that salvation (John 3:16). Redemption in Christ completes creation, carrying out the purposes of God and making final, complete salvation possible.

God works in history. The sovereign God exercises His lordship or ownership of the world by continuing to work in His world and through His people. God allows people the freedom to be themselves and make their own free choices but works within those choices to accomplish His eternal purposes. This is called God's providence. God has not predetermined all the events of human history; yet He continues to work in that history in ways we do not necessarily see or understand.

God works toward and in the end time to fulfill His eternal purposes. God will one day bring His purposes to fulfillment, bringing history to a close and ushering in eternity. The sovereign, absolute Lord will accomplish His will in His world.

God as Trinity Finally, God has revealed Himself as Father and Creator, as Son and Savior, and as Holy Spirit and Comforter. This has led the church to formulate the uniquely Christian doctrine of the Trinity. New Testament passages make statements about the work and person of each member of the Trinity to show that each is God; yet the Bible strongly affirms that God is one, not three (Matthew 28:19; John 16:5-11; Romans 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6). The doctrine of the Trinity is a human attempt to explain this biblical evidence and revelation. It is an explicit formulation of the doctrine of God in harmony with the early Christian message that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). It expresses the diversity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in the midst of the unity of God's being. TRINITY:

Theological term used to define God as an undivided unity expressed in the threefold nature of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As a distinctive Christian doctrine, the Trinity is considered as a divine mystery beyond human comprehension to be reflected upon only through scriptual revelation. The Trinity is a biblical concept that expresses the dynamic character of God, not a Greek idea pressed into Scripture from philosophical or religious speculation. While the term trinity does not appear in Scripture, the trinitarian structure appears throughout the New Testament to affirm that God Himself is manifested through Jesus Christ by means of the Spirit.

A proper biblical view of the Trinity balances the concepts of unity and distinctiveness. Two errors that appear in the history of the consideration of the doctrine are tritheism and unitarianism. In tritheism, error is made in emphasizing the distinctiveness of the Godhead to the point that the Trinity is seen as three separate Gods, or a Christian polytheism. On the other hand, unitarianism excludes the concept of distinctiveness while focusing solely on the aspect of God the Father. In this way, Christ and the Holy Spirit are placed in lower categories and made less than divine. Both errors compromise the effectiveness and contribution of the activity of God in redemptive history.

The biblical concept of the Trinity developed through progressive revelation. See Revelation. The Old Testament consistently affirms the unity of God through such statements as, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4). See Shema. God's oneness is stressed to caution the Israelites against the polytheism and practical atheism of their heathen neighbors.

The Old Testament does feature implications of the trinitarian idea. This does not mean that the Trinity was fully knowable from the Old Testament, but that a vocabulary was established through the events of God's nearness and creativity; both receive developed meaning from New Testament writers. For example, the word of God is recognized as the agent of creation (Psalms 33:6,Psalms 33:9; compare Proverbs 3:19; Proverbs 8:27), revelation, and salvation (Psalms 107:20). This same vocabulary is given distinct personality in John's prologue (John 1:1-4) in the person of Jesus Christ. Other vocabulary categories include the wisdom of God (Proverbs 8:1) and the Spirit of God (Genesis 1:2; Psalms 104:30; Zechariah 4:6).

A distinguishing feature of the New Testament is the doctrine of the Trinity. It is remarkable that New Testament writers present the doctrine in such a manner that it does not violate the Old Testament concept of the oneness of God. In fact, they unanimously affirm the Hebrew monothestic faith, but they extend it to include the coming of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The early Christian church experienced the God of Abraham in a new and dramatic way without abandoning the oneness of God that permeates the Old Testament. As a fresh expression of God, the concept of the Trinity—rooted in the God of the past and consistent with the God of the past—absorbs the idea of the God of the past, but goes beyond the God of the past in a more personal encounter.

The New Testament does not present a systematic presentation of the Trinity. The scattered segments from various writers that appear throughout the New Testament reflect a seemingly accepted understanding that exists without a full-length discussion. It is embedded in the framework of the Christian experience and simply assumed as true. The New Testament writers focus on statements drawn from the obvious existence of the trinitarian experience as opposed to a detailed exposition.

The New Testament evidence for the Trinity can be grouped into four types of passages. The first is the trinitarian formula of Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2; Revelation 1:4. In each passage a trinitarian formula, repeated in summation fashion, registers a distinctive contribution of each person of the Godhead. Matthew 28:19, for example, follows the triple formula of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that distinguishes Christian baptism. The risen Lord commissioned the disciples to baptize converts with a trinitarian emphasis that carries the distinctiveness of each person of the Godhead while associating their inner relationship. This passage is the clearest scriptural reference to a systematic presentation of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Paul, in 2 Corinthians 13:14, finalized his thoughts to the Corinthian church with a pastoral appeal that is grounded in “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (NIV). The formulation is designed to have the practical impact of bringing that divided church together through their personal experinece of the Trinity in their daily lives. Significantly, in the trinitarian order Christ is mentioned first. This reflects the actual process of Christian salvation, since Christ is the key to opening insight into the work of the Godhead. Paul was calling attention to the trinitarian consciousness, not in the initial work of salvation which has already been accomplished at Corinth, but in the sustaining work that enables divisive Christians to achieve unity.

In 1 Peter 1:2, the trinitarian formula is followed with reference to each person of the Godhead. The scattered Christians are reminded through reference to the Trinity that their election (foreknowledge of the Father) and redemption (the sanctifying work of the Spirit) should lead to holy living obedience to the Son).

John addressed the readers of Revelation with an expanded trinitarian formula that includes references to the persons of the Godhead (Revelation 1:4-6). The focus on the triumph of Christianity crystallizes the trinitarian greeting into a doxology that acknowledges the accomplished work and the future return of Christ. This elongated presentation serves as an encouragement to churches facing persecution.

A second type of New Testament passage is the triadic form. Two passages cast in this structure are Ephesians 4:4-6 and 1 Corinthians 12:3-6. Both passages refer to the three Persons, but not in the definitive formula of the previous passage. Each Scripture balances the unity of the church. Emphasis is placed on the administration of gifts by the Godhead.

A third category of passages mentions the three persons of the Godhead, but without a clear triadic structure. In the accounts of the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:3-17; Mark 1:9-11; and Luke 3:21-22), the three synoptic writers recorded the presence of the Trinity when the Son was baptized, the Spirit descended, and the Father spoke with approval. Paul, in Galatians 4:4-6, outlined the work of the Trinity in the aspect of the sending Father. Other representative passages in this category (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15; Titus 3:4-6; and Jude 1:20-21) portray each member of the Trinity in relation to a particular redemptive function.

The fourth category of trinitarian passages includes those presented in the farewell discourse of Jesus to His disciples (John 14:16; John 15:26; John 16:13-15). In the context of these passages, Jesus expounded the work and ministry of the third person of the Godhead as the Agent of God in the continuing ministry of the Son. The Spirit is a Teacher who facilitates understanding on the disciples' part and, in being sent from the Father and the Son, is one in nature with the other Persons of the Trinity. He makes known the Son and “at the same time makes known the Father who is revealed in the Son” (John 16:15). The discourse emphasizes the interrelatedness of the Trinity in equality and operational significance.

All of these passages are embryonic efforts by the early church to express its awareness of the Trinity. The New Testament is Christological in its approach, but it involves the fullness of God being made available to the individual believer through Jesus and by the Spirit. The consistent trinitarian expression is not a formulation of the doctrine, as such, but reveals an experiencing of God's persistent self-revelation.

In the postbiblical era, the Christian church tried to express its doctrine in terms that were philosophically acceptable and logically coherent. Greek categories of understanding began to appear in explanation efforts. Discussion shifted from the New Testament emphasis on the function of the Trinity in redemptive history to an analysis of the unity of essence of the Godhead.

A major question during those early centuries focused on the oneness of God. The Sabelians described the Godhead in terms of modes that existed only one at a time. This theory upheld the unity of God, but excluded His permanent distinctiveness. The Docetists understood Christ as an appearance of God in human form, while Ebonites described Jesus as an ordinary man indwelt with God's power at baptism. Arius was also an influential theologian who viewed Jesus as subordinate to God. To Arius, Jesus was a being created by God, higher than man, but less than God. This idea, as well as the others, was challenged by Athanasius at Nicea (A.D. 325), and the council decided for the position of Jesus as “of the exact same substance as the Father.”

Probably the most outstanding thinker of the early centuries was Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430). He began with the idea of God as one substance and sought explanation of the Godhead in psychological analogy: a person exists as one being with three dimensions of memory, understanding, and will; so also the Godhead exists as a unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While this explanation is helpful and contains the concept of three persons in one, it does not resolve the complex nature of God.

Perhaps four statements can summarize and clarify this study.

1. God is One. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. His offer of salvation in the Old Testament receives a fuller revelation in the New Testament in a way that is not different, but more complete. The doctrine of the Trinity does not abandon the monotheistic faith of Israel.

2. God has three distinct ways of being in the redemptive event, yet He remains an undivided unity. That God the Father imparts Himself to mankind through Son and Spirit without ceasing to be Himself is at the very heart of the Christian faith. A compromise in either the absolute sameness of the Godhead or the true diversity reduces the reality of salvation.

3. The primary way of grasping the concept of the Trinity is through the threefold participation in salvation. The approach of the New Testament is not to discuss the essence of the Godhead, but the particular aspects of the revelatory event that includes the definitive presence of the Father in the person of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.

4. The doctrine of the Trinity is an absolute mystery. It is primarily known, not through speculation, but through experiencing the act of grace through personal faith.

TRINITY

The Old Testament does feature implications of the trinitarian idea. This does not mean that the Trinity was fully knowable from the Old Testament, but that a vocabulary was established through the events of God's nearness and creativity; both receive developed meaning from New Testament writers. For example, the word of God is recognized as the agent of creation (Psalms 33:6;Psalms 33:9 compare Proverbs 3:19; Proverbs 8:27), revelation, and salvation (Psalms 107:20). This same vocabulary is given distinct personality in John's prologue (John 1:1-4) in the person of Jesus Christ. Other vocabulary categories include the wisdom of God (Proverbs 8:1) and the Spirit of God (Genesis 1:2; Psalms 104:30; Zechariah 4:6).

A third category of passages mentions the three persons of the Godhead, but without a clear triadic structure. In the accounts of the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:3-17; Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 3:21-22), the three synoptic writers recorded the presence of the Trinity when the Son was baptized, the Spirit descended, and the Father spoke with approval. Paul, in Galatians 4:-6, outlined the work of the Trinity in the aspect of the sending Father. Other representative passages in this category (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15; Titus 3:4-6; and Jude 1:20-21) portray each member of the Trinity in relation to a particular redemptive function.

Perhaps four statements can summarize and clarify this study.

4. The doctrine of the Trinity is an absolute mystery. It is primarily known, not through speculation, but through experiencing the act of grace through personal faith. ==================================================================== catcmo2006 would like to: Thank You for allow in this site,group sites, web sites and other prayer sites as well in holding one another up for prayer's being totally united in everyone around this world, it's about Jesus Christ first and prayers,intecessory prayer's and at other times about this vast world we live in today which this old world as we all know it is slowly departing to be reaching our home in glory.