The Interdependence of the Trinity
I have been working my way through John's gospel, and in doing so have found enormous evidence and information regarding the Trinity. One of the interesting aspects I have found thus far is the interdependence of the Trinity. I say interdependence because without one part of the Godhead the other would be insufficient in carrying out the plan of the ages. It is by working together as the Triune that creation was made, salvation was possible, and judgment is executed. First however, I will solidify the concept of the Trinity.
John 1:1-3
"1. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2. He was with God in the beginning
3. All things were created through Him,
and apart from Him not one thing was created
that has been created."
In verse one we see that Christ (the Word) was with and was God... This is great evidence for the Trinity unless you are struggling with the concept that Christ is the Word. To solve this dillemma let's jump forward to John 6:53-56 where Christ states;
"I assure you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you do not have life in yourselves. Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, because My flesh is real food and My blood real drink. The one who eats My flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I in him."
At this statement many of his disciples (believers and followers) said that this teaching was too hard and departed from him... These could very well be the believers who cannot accept Christ at his deity. Let's quickly travel back in time to Deuteronomy 8:3 to where it is written;
"...man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."
Christ proclaims himself as the bread of life, which has come down from heaven to give eternal life to those who would partake in Him. So if man should not live by bread alone but on every WORD that proceeds from God, and Christ clearly states that man has no life in himself, but may only find it by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man, would this not also make him the WORD? For man may not find life in himself, but only by bread of life which has come down from heaven. Again, John 1:1... In the beginning was the Word.
Let's continue looking into the Trinity. Let's start with the preeminance of Christ. Constantly throughout the first few chapters of John we see hints at Christ's "coming down from heaven." In 3:31, John the Baptist declares, "The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is on earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms. The One who comes from heaven is above all." Surely none of us humans, being born of this earth, have come from heaven. It is clear that the one who comes from heaven must have preeminant qualifications. We know Christ was not an angel as certain worldviews would proclaim so we can only accept that he was truly the Son of God. We also read constantly that Jesus was "sent from heaven", or "sent by the father", or refers to himself as "the one sent from the father". If Christ says that He was sent, to where was he sent from? Heaven, indeed John 1:1, "The Word was with God."
Revealed to us then is the coeternal union between the Father and the Son in John 1:1, "and the Word was God". Througout the rest of John we run into the 7 "I am" statements Christ gave. These draw back to Exodus 3:14, where Moses inquires to God his name and God replies "I AM WHO I AM". Let's take a look at just one of the seven statements, In John 8:58-59 the Jews are mocking Jesus, " 'You aren't even 50 years old yet, and You've seen Abraham?', Jesus said to them 'I assure you before Abraham was, I AM.' at that they picked up stones to throw at Him..." Jesus solidly declares not only I Am but He was, which infuriated the Jews to where they picked up stones to kill him. We get a good depiction of this anger a little later in John 10:33 where again the Jews pick up stones to kill him and Jesus asks why they want to kill him, when the Jews reply "We aren't stoning you for a good work, but for blaspheming, because you- being a man- make yourself God" This was a justifiable dispute, but Jesus justifies himself by saying in verse 38, "The Father is in Me and I in the Father." If Jesus was proclaimed as God by his critics, surely He would have rebuked them at His error if He was not, however He defends himself by that shocking statement. Coeternal union...
Now that the Trinity is a grounded, we can move on to the interdependence. Again, without the Father the Son can do nothing as stated in John 5:19- "I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does in the same way." On the contrary the Father also relies upon the Son in verse 22 Jesus reveals "The Father in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." We already know that by the book of divine revelation of scripture that Christ will be returning to judge the world, and if we skip to Revelation 20 we get a great visual. So we see how the father has given authority to judge to the Son. All aspects of the Trinity are summed up in the above passages. The preeminence of Christ (The Father who sent him), the coeternal union (for whatever the Father does, the Son also does in the same way) and the interdepency of the Trinity (The Father judges noone, but has given all judgment to the Son).
We need not stop there, for if we return to John 1:3 we read that "All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created." This is an amazing statement. For what it implies is that God is powerless if Christ be not part of the Triune. For all things were made through Christ, and without Him not one thing was created..." These are bold statements by the Jewish writers who believed in a strict monotheism.
Let me then remind you that the term"Trinity" does not appear once in scripture. Instead, it is a doctrine that arose as early as the second century, was first coined as "Trinitarian" by Tertullion in the third century, and by 325 AD was adopted as orthodoxy through means of the First Counsel of Nicea, popularized by the Nicene Creed.
I know that I have not done the Holy Spirit justice in including Him into this post. There are a few scriptures in John thus far that I can relate to the spirit, however, I have simply run out of time. I'm going to Italy! I'll continue to post on this topic as I read further into the word! So internets, I'm outta here! Think on that for a while.
John 1:1-3
"1. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2. He was with God in the beginning
3. All things were created through Him,
and apart from Him not one thing was created
that has been created."
In verse one we see that Christ (the Word) was with and was God... This is great evidence for the Trinity unless you are struggling with the concept that Christ is the Word. To solve this dillemma let's jump forward to John 6:53-56 where Christ states;
"I assure you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you do not have life in yourselves. Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, because My flesh is real food and My blood real drink. The one who eats My flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I in him."
At this statement many of his disciples (believers and followers) said that this teaching was too hard and departed from him... These could very well be the believers who cannot accept Christ at his deity. Let's quickly travel back in time to Deuteronomy 8:3 to where it is written;
"...man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."
Christ proclaims himself as the bread of life, which has come down from heaven to give eternal life to those who would partake in Him. So if man should not live by bread alone but on every WORD that proceeds from God, and Christ clearly states that man has no life in himself, but may only find it by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man, would this not also make him the WORD? For man may not find life in himself, but only by bread of life which has come down from heaven. Again, John 1:1... In the beginning was the Word.
Let's continue looking into the Trinity. Let's start with the preeminance of Christ. Constantly throughout the first few chapters of John we see hints at Christ's "coming down from heaven." In 3:31, John the Baptist declares, "The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is on earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms. The One who comes from heaven is above all." Surely none of us humans, being born of this earth, have come from heaven. It is clear that the one who comes from heaven must have preeminant qualifications. We know Christ was not an angel as certain worldviews would proclaim so we can only accept that he was truly the Son of God. We also read constantly that Jesus was "sent from heaven", or "sent by the father", or refers to himself as "the one sent from the father". If Christ says that He was sent, to where was he sent from? Heaven, indeed John 1:1, "The Word was with God."
Revealed to us then is the coeternal union between the Father and the Son in John 1:1, "and the Word was God". Througout the rest of John we run into the 7 "I am" statements Christ gave. These draw back to Exodus 3:14, where Moses inquires to God his name and God replies "I AM WHO I AM". Let's take a look at just one of the seven statements, In John 8:58-59 the Jews are mocking Jesus, " 'You aren't even 50 years old yet, and You've seen Abraham?', Jesus said to them 'I assure you before Abraham was, I AM.' at that they picked up stones to throw at Him..." Jesus solidly declares not only I Am but He was, which infuriated the Jews to where they picked up stones to kill him. We get a good depiction of this anger a little later in John 10:33 where again the Jews pick up stones to kill him and Jesus asks why they want to kill him, when the Jews reply "We aren't stoning you for a good work, but for blaspheming, because you- being a man- make yourself God" This was a justifiable dispute, but Jesus justifies himself by saying in verse 38, "The Father is in Me and I in the Father." If Jesus was proclaimed as God by his critics, surely He would have rebuked them at His error if He was not, however He defends himself by that shocking statement. Coeternal union...
Now that the Trinity is a grounded, we can move on to the interdependence. Again, without the Father the Son can do nothing as stated in John 5:19- "I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does in the same way." On the contrary the Father also relies upon the Son in verse 22 Jesus reveals "The Father in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." We already know that by the book of divine revelation of scripture that Christ will be returning to judge the world, and if we skip to Revelation 20 we get a great visual. So we see how the father has given authority to judge to the Son. All aspects of the Trinity are summed up in the above passages. The preeminence of Christ (The Father who sent him), the coeternal union (for whatever the Father does, the Son also does in the same way) and the interdepency of the Trinity (The Father judges noone, but has given all judgment to the Son).
We need not stop there, for if we return to John 1:3 we read that "All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created." This is an amazing statement. For what it implies is that God is powerless if Christ be not part of the Triune. For all things were made through Christ, and without Him not one thing was created..." These are bold statements by the Jewish writers who believed in a strict monotheism.
Let me then remind you that the term"Trinity" does not appear once in scripture. Instead, it is a doctrine that arose as early as the second century, was first coined as "Trinitarian" by Tertullion in the third century, and by 325 AD was adopted as orthodoxy through means of the First Counsel of Nicea, popularized by the Nicene Creed.
I know that I have not done the Holy Spirit justice in including Him into this post. There are a few scriptures in John thus far that I can relate to the spirit, however, I have simply run out of time. I'm going to Italy! I'll continue to post on this topic as I read further into the word! So internets, I'm outta here! Think on that for a while.
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