Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

The Persons of the Trinity are each distinct, but together they comprise one super-personal Being. When the Bible says that humans are created in God's image, they are like this Being in that they are single entities consisting of a physical body, an animating life force (that they share in common with all other life forms, including other humans), and a spiritual component or consciousness that constitutes their unique connection with God's super-personal aspect. (Paul speaks of this structure (as well as of God's unity) in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, when he says, "May the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.")

It is therefore (in my opinion) neither necessary nor valid to suggest that the creation of humans in God's image indicates or involves connections between separate human beings (beyond the fact that those humans may be living at the same time). The relationship is entirely between God and each human as a distinct individual.

August 18 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Grant Abbott Supporter Child of Father, Follower of Son, Student of Spirit

This is an important question, which I’ll break down into 2 parts.

Part 1 - Is the Holy Trinity 3 independent beings acting independently?

My answer is No. The bible clearly teaches there is only one authentic, supreme being called God. Deuteronomy 6:4 says “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” This verse is recited every week in Jewish services. 

But the bible also clearly teaches that this One God has chosen to reveal himself to us as 3 distinct persons to help us understand his work in the world. 

God the Father, the Lord God Almighty, created the world, calls all humans who are to receive his salvation, and will judge and punish every person who rejects His Son, Jesus Christ. 

God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the redeemer of the world, His birth, life, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection has set all believers free from sin, death and the power of evil. He will come again as king over a new heaven and earth.

God, the Holy Spirit is the advocate and teacher who lives inside all believers. He convicts the whole world of sin, righteousness and judgement. He will resurrect all human beings to either inherit eternal life or face eternal judgement.

These 3 personalities are still only 1 God. They are completely unified in absolutely everything they think, say and do. The bible provides an amazing look at this unity in John chapters 14 to 16. Following are some examples: John 14:9 - anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father. John 14:10 - it is the Father living in me who is doing his work. John 14:15 - the Father will send another advocate to help you - the Spirit of Truth. John 15:26 - the Spirit of Truth will testify about me. John 16:13 - when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will not speak on his own, he will speak only what he hears. 

Part 2: Do human beings have a lot in common with each other, like the Holy Trinity, because we are created in the image of God? My answer is Yes we do.

When God created human beings in his image, it means we share the following characteristics:

1) humans have a physical body. God has a physical body. Jesus is God in human flesh. He was resurrected with a glorified physical body. Isaiah and Ezekiel saw the physical body of God seated on the throne in heaven. 

2) humans have an eternal spirit. This part of us lives forever, in a human body now and either a glorified or condemned body at the resurrection. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. God is Spirit. Those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

3) humans all have a soul, comprised of our mind, will and emotions. God created a salvation plan with his mind. God has a specific will (plan and purpose) for every human being. God gets angry, he hates sin. Jesus wept. Jesus rejoiced at a wedding feast. Jesus righteous anger cleansed the temple.

4) humans also have a deep hunger for relationship. The hole in our soul can only be filled by a personal relationship with God. We love to make friends and be with people. But all our relationships are fractured because of our sinful nature. We hurt each other when we ought to help.The relationship of the Holy Trinity is perfect intimacy all the time. 

Once Jesus had crucified our sin nature on the cross, he opened the door for us to have abundantly fulfilling and deeply satisfying relationships with other believers in the body of Christ, the Christian church on earth. Christians share so much in common with each other all over the world. Believers can meet and become intimate friends, united in our common faith. This is what Jesus prayed for in John chapter 17.

The bible says that each believer is a new creation. The Holy Spirit is creating the image of Jesus Christ inside each one of us. The world will see Jesus when they look at our lives where ever we live in the world.

August 22 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Nils Jansma Supporter Missionary in San Diego California

If the Holy Trinity is in fact 3 separate beings able to act independently of each other, is it unreasonable to postulate that all beings are connected as one in the same fashion, especially considering God created humanity in His image? 

To answer this question, we must consider the material difference between God and man. God is an entity made up of what can be called His unique essence. Man is a different kind of entity made up of different essence which is said to be a little lower than the angels. (Hebrews 2:6-7) Essence is defined by Webster’s, among other things as : “the properties or attributes by means of which something can be placed in its proper class or identified as being what it is. “

When Jesus became a man, he gave up his essence of being God and adopted human essence. This is explained in detail at Philippians 2:5-7 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, (6) who, although He existed in the form [essence] of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, (7) but emptied Himself, taking the form [essence] of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

When the Bible says we are in the “image of God,” there are a number of ways this can be considered. One has already been mentioned in these comments and appears to reflect the three components that comprise human essence: body, soul, and spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:23) However, with regard to humans, the inherent three parts are “not” of the same essence, they are all fundamentally different which distinguishes them individually from God. So, we are not in the “image of God” because we are made up of three components like The Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Sprit are all of one unique essence but expressed in three persons. All are eternal but not all are exactly the same in person.

In my opinion, we are in the “image of God” because we have free-will and can be held morally responsible for our actions. Though we inherited a sinful nature from our human ancestor Adam, we do not inherit the actual sins of our fathers. (Ezekiel 18:1-4) Each person is responsible for his own sins. Humans can even sin against other humans which is something the three persons of the God-head cannot do. Because humans can sin against one another shows that they are not related to one another as are God The Father, Son. And Holy Spirit.

August 23 2018 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report