One in three persons meaning. triune god

After death, what awaits us? Probably each of us asked this question. Death scares many people. Usually it is fear that makes us look for an answer to the question: "After death, what awaits us?" However, not only him. People often cannot come to terms with the loss of loved ones, and this forces them to look for evidence that there is life after death. Sometimes simple curiosity drives us in this matter. One way or another, life after death interests many.

Afterlife of the Hellenes

Perhaps non-existence is the most terrible thing in death. People are afraid of the unknown, the emptiness. In this respect, the ancient inhabitants of the Earth were more protected than us. Ellin, for example, knew for sure that he would be brought to trial, and then passed through the corridor of Erebus (the underworld). If she turns out to be unworthy, she will go to Tartarus. If she proves herself well, she will receive immortality and will be on the Champs Elysees in bliss and joy. Therefore, the Greek lived without fear of uncertainty. However, our contemporaries are not so simple. Many of those living today doubt what awaits us after death.

This is what all religions agree on

Religions and scriptures of all times and peoples of the world, differing in many provisions and issues, show unanimity that the existence of people after death continues. V Ancient Egypt, Greece, India, Babylon believed in Therefore, we can say that this is the collective experience of mankind. However, could he have appeared by chance? Is there any other basis in it than desire eternal life and From what do modern church fathers start, who do not doubt that the soul is immortal?

You can say that, of course, everything is clear with them. Everyone knows the story of hell and heaven. The Church Fathers in this matter are like the Hellenes, who are clad in the armor of faith and are not afraid of anything. Indeed, the Holy Scriptures (New and Old Testaments) for Christians are the main source of their faith in life after death. It is reinforced by the Epistles of the Apostles and others. Believers are not afraid of physical death, since it seems to them just an entrance into another life, into existence together with Christ.

Life after death in terms of Christianity

According to the Bible, earthly existence is a preparation for future life. After death, the soul remains with everything that she did, good and bad. Therefore, from the very death of the physical body (even before the Judgment), joys or sufferings begin for her. This is determined by how this or that soul lived on earth. The days of commemoration after death are 3, 9 and 40 days. Why exactly them? Let's figure it out.

Immediately after death, the soul leaves the body. In the first 2 days, she, freed from his shackles, enjoys freedom. At this time, the soul can visit those places on earth that were especially dear to her during her lifetime. However, on the 3rd day after death, she is already in other areas. Christianity knows the revelation given by St. Macarius of Alexandria (died 395) as an angel. He said that when an offering is made in the church on the 3rd day, the soul of the deceased receives from the angel guarding her, relief in grief due to separation from the body. She receives it because an offering and a doxology have been made in the church, which is why a good hope appears in her soul. The angel also said that for 2 days the deceased is allowed to walk the earth along with the angels who are with him. If the soul loves the body, then sometimes it wanders near the house in which it parted with it, or near the coffin where it is laid. And the virtuous soul goes to the places where it did the right thing. On the third day, she ascends to heaven to worship God. Then, after worshiping him, he shows her the beauty of paradise and the abode of the saints. The soul considers all this for 6 days, glorifying the Creator. Admiring all this beauty, she changes and ceases to mourn. However, if the soul is guilty of any sins, then it begins to reproach itself, seeing the pleasures of the saints. She realizes that in her earthly life she was engaged in the satisfaction of her lusts and did not serve God, therefore she has no right to be rewarded with his goodness.

After the soul has considered all the joys of the righteous for 6 days, that is, on the 9th day after death, it again ascends to the worship of God by angels. That is why the church on the 9th day makes services and offerings for the deceased. God, after the second worship, now commands to send the soul to hell and show the places of torment that are there. For 30 days, the soul rushes through these places, trembling. She doesn't want to be condemned to hell. What happens 40 days after death? The soul ascends again to worship God. After that, he determines the place that she deserves, according to her deeds. Thus, the 40th day is the boundary that finally separates earthly life from eternal life. WITH religious point of view, this is an even more tragic date than the fact of physical death. 3, 9 and 40 days after death - this is the time when you should especially actively pray for the deceased. Prayers can help his soul in the afterlife.

The question arises about what happens to a person after a year of death. Why are commemorations held every year? It must be said that they are no longer needed for the deceased, but for us, so that we remember the deceased person. The anniversary has nothing to do with ordeals, which end on the 40th day. By the way, if the soul is sent to hell, this does not mean that it has finally died. During Doomsday the fate of all people, including the dead, is decided.

Opinion of Muslims, Jews and Buddhists

The Muslim is also convinced that his soul after physical death moves to another world. Here she waits for judgment day. Buddhists believe that she is constantly reborn, changing her body. After death, she again incarnates in a different guise - reincarnation occurs. Judaism speaks of afterlife least of all. Extraterrestrial existence in the books of Moses is mentioned very rarely. Most Jews believe that both hell and heaven exist on earth. However, they are convinced that life is eternal. It continues after death in children and grandchildren.

According to Hare Krishnas

And only Hare Krishnas, who are also convinced of the immortality of the soul, turn to empirical and boolean arguments. They come to the aid of numerous information about clinical deaths experienced by different people. Many of them described that they rose above the bodies and soared through an unknown light to the tunnel. also comes to the aid of the Hare Krishnas. One well-known Vedic argument for the soul being immortal is that we, while living in the body, observe its changes. We turn through the years from a child into an old man. However, the very fact that we are able to contemplate these changes indicates that we exist outside the changes of the body, since the observer is always aloof.

What do the doctor's say

According to common sense, we cannot know what happens to a person after death. It is all the more surprising that a number of scientists hold a different opinion. First of all, they are doctors. The medical practice of many of them refutes the axiom that no one managed to return from the next world. Doctors are familiar firsthand with hundreds of "returnees". And many of you probably at least heard something about clinical death.

The scenario of the exit of the soul from the body after clinical death

Everything usually happens according to one scenario. During the operation, the patient's heart stops. After that, doctors ascertain the onset of clinical death. They begin resuscitation, trying with all their might to start the heart. The count goes to seconds, since the brain and other vital organs begin to suffer from a lack of oxygen (hypoxia) in 5-6 minutes, which is fraught with sad consequences.

Meanwhile, the patient "leaves" the body, observes himself and the actions of the doctors from above for some time, and then floats towards the light along a long corridor. And then, according to the statistics that British scientists have collected over the past 20 years, about 72% of the "dead" end up in paradise. Grace descends on them, they see angels or dead friends and relatives. Everyone laughs and cheers. However, the other 28% describe a far from happy picture. These are those who after "death" find themselves in hell. Therefore, when some divine entity, appearing most often as a clot of light, informs them that their time has not yet come, they are very happy, and then return to the body. Doctors pump out a patient whose heart starts beating again. Those who managed to look beyond the threshold of death remember this all their lives. And many of them share with close relatives and attending physicians the received revelation.

Arguments of skeptics

In the 1970s, research began on so-called near-death experiences. They continue to this day, although many copies have been broken on this score. Someone saw in the phenomenon of these experiences proof of eternal life, while others, on the contrary, even today strive to convince everyone that hell and paradise, and in general "the other world" are somewhere inside us. These are supposedly not real places, but hallucinations that occur when consciousness fades. One can agree with this assumption, but why then are these hallucinations so similar for everyone? And skeptics give their answer to this question. They say the brain is being deprived of oxygenated blood. Very quickly, parts of the visual lobe of the hemispheres are turned off, but the poles of the occipital lobes, which have a dual blood supply system, are still functioning. Because of this, the field of view is significantly narrowed. Only a narrow strip remains, which provides "tube", central vision. This is the desired tunnel. So, at least, says Sergei Levitsky, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.

case of dentures

However, those who managed to return from the other world object to him. They describe in detail the actions of a team of doctors who, during a cardiac arrest, "conjured" over the body. Patients also talk about their relatives who grieved in the corridors. For example, one patient, having come to his senses 7 days after clinical death, asked the doctors to give him a denture that was removed during the operation. The doctors could not remember where they had placed it in the confusion. And then the waking up patient accurately named the place where the prosthesis was located, while saying that during the "journey" he remembered it. It turns out that medicine today does not have irrefutable evidence that there is no life after death.

Testimony of Natalia Bekhtereva

There is an opportunity to look at this problem from the other side. First, we can recall the law of conservation of energy. In addition, one can refer to the fact that the energy principle underlies any kind of substance. It also exists in man. Of course, after the death of the body, it does not disappear anywhere. This beginning remains in the energy-informational field of our planet. However, there are also exceptions.

In particular, Natalya Bekhtereva testified that her husband's human brain became a mystery to her. The fact is that the ghost of her husband began to appear to the woman even during the day. He gave her advice, shared his thoughts, suggested where to find something. Note that Bekhterev is a world-famous scientist. However, she did not doubt the reality of what was happening. Natalya says she doesn't know if this vision was a product of her own mind, which was in a state of stress, or something else. But the woman claims that she knows for sure - she did not imagine her husband, she actually saw him.

"The Solaris Effect"

Scientists call the appearance of "ghosts" of loved ones or relatives who have died, the "Solaris effect". Another name is materialization according to the Lemma method. However, this happens extremely rarely. Most likely, the "Solaris effect" is observed only in cases where the mourners have a fairly large energy force in order to "pull" the phantom of a dear person from the field of our planet.

Experience of Vsevolod Zaporozhets

If the forces are not enough, mediums come to the rescue. This is exactly what happened to Vsevolod Zaporozhets, a geophysicist. He was a supporter of scientific materialism for many years. However, at the age of 70, after the death of his wife, he changed his mind. The scientist could not come to terms with the loss and began to study the literature on spirits and spiritualism. In total, he performed about 460 sessions, and also created the book "Contours of the Universe", where he described a technique by which one can prove the reality of the existence of life after death. Most importantly, he managed to contact his wife. In the afterlife, she is young and beautiful, like all the others living there. According to Zaporozhets, the explanation for this is simple: the world of the dead is the product of the embodiment of their desires. In this he is similar to earthly world and even better than him. Usually the souls that dwell in it are represented in a beautiful form and at a young age. They feel material, like the inhabitants of the Earth. Inhabitants afterworld are aware of their physicality and can enjoy life. Clothes are created by the desire and thought of the departed. Love in this world remains or is found again. However, the relationship between the sexes is devoid of sexuality, but still different from ordinary friendships. There is no procreation in this world. One does not need to eat to sustain life, but some eat for pleasure or earthly habit. They mainly eat fruits, which grow in abundance and are very beautiful. Such is interesting story. After death, perhaps this is what awaits us. If so, then, apart from your own desires, there is nothing to be afraid of.

We examined the most popular answers to the question: "After death, what awaits us?". Of course, this is to some extent only guesswork that can be taken on faith. After all, science in this matter is still powerless. The methods she uses today are unlikely to help figure out what awaits us after death. Probably, this riddle will torment scientists and many of us for a long time to come. However, we can state that there is much more evidence that life after death is real than the arguments of skeptics.

Many who have lost loved ones know the feelings that loss evokes. Emptiness, longing and wild pain in the soul. Grieving for the departed loved ones is one of the most painful psychological conditions.

However, there is a lot of information about the living receive messages from the subtle world.

We will not take into account researchers who purposefully study opportunities for two-way communication with the other world. There are quite a few people who claim that they make no effort to see the souls of the departed. Visions occur, in their opinion, involuntarily.

From this article you will learn how the souls of the dead communicate with the living.

stuck between worlds

People are often frightened when footsteps are clearly heard in their houses where no one walks. Water taps and light switches turn on by themselves, they can things fall off the shelves with enviable regularity. In other words, poltergeist activity is observed. But what is really happening?

To understand who or what communicates with us on behalf of the dead, we need to imagine what happens after death.

After the death of the physical body, the soul seeks to return to the Creator. Some souls will do it faster, while others will take longer. The higher the level of development of the soul, the faster it will reach the Home.

However, the soul can different reasons linger in the density closest to physical world astral plane. Sometimes the deceased is not aware of what is happening and where he is. He does not understand that he is dead. He is unable to return to physical body and stuck between worlds.

For him, everything remains the same, except for one thing: living people stop seeing them. Such souls are considered to be ghosts.

For how long ghost soul will linger next to the world of the living, depends on the level of development of the soul. By human standards, the time spent by a certain soul in parallel with living people can be calculated in decades, or even centuries. They may need the help of the living.

Call from beyond

Phone calls from the inhabitants of the subtle world are one of the ways of communication. SMS comes to mobile phones, calls come from strange numbers from a multitude of numbers. When trying to call back to these numbers or send a response, it turns out that given number does not exist, and later it is completely deleted from the phone's memory.

Such calls, as a rule, are accompanied by a very strong noise, similar to the wind in the field and a loud crash. Through crackling, contact with the world of the dead is manifested. It's like a curtain breaks between the worlds.

The phrases are short and only the caller speaks. Calls coming to mobile phones are observed for the first time after a person has died. The farther from the day of death, the rarer they become.

The recipients of such calls may not suspect that the caller is dead. This is clarified later. It is possible that such calls are made by ghosts who themselves are not aware of their physical death.

What do the dead talk about when they call on the phone?

Sometimes, by calling on the phone, the dead may ask for help.

So, one woman received a call late in the evening from her younger sister, who asked for help. But the woman was very tired, so she promised to call back in the morning next day and help all you can.

And about five minutes later, the younger sister's husband called and said that for about two weeks his wife had been dead, and her body was in the forensic morgue. She was hit by a car and the driver fled the scene.

Souls, by calling on the phone, can warn about the danger of the living.

The young family was driving. A girl was driving. The car skidded, and it miraculously did not roll over, moving off the road. Called at this time mobile phone girls.

When everyone came to their senses a little, it turned out that the girl's mother called. She called back, and she asked in a trembling voice if everything was all right. When asked why she asked, the woman replied: “Grandfather called (he died six years ago), said: “She is still alive. You can save her."

Apart from cell phones voices of dead people can be heard in computer speakers along with technical noise. Their degree of intelligibility can vary from very quiet and barely intelligible to relatively loud and clearly distinguishable.

Reflection of ghosts in mirrors and more

People tell how they see reflections of their dead relatives in mirrors, as well as on TV screens and computer monitors.

The girl saw a rather dense silhouette of her mother on the tenth day after her funeral. The woman “sat” on a chair next to her, as she did during her lifetime, and looked over her daughter’s shoulder. After a few moments, the silhouette disappeared and never reappeared. Later, the girl realized that the mother's soul came to her to say goodbye.

Raymond Moody in his books talks about ancient technology, when peering into the mirror, you can establish contact with the deceased. This technique was used in ancient times by priests. True, instead of mirrors they used bowls of water.

An unprepared person can see in the mirror the image of the one who died by briefly glancing into it. The image can either transform from the reflection of the face of the one who looks into the mirror, or appear next to the reflection of the beholder.

In addition to the signs that the inhabitants of the subtle planes leave through technology or some household items, attempts to make contact are made directly. That is, people physically feel the otherworldly presence of spirits, hear their voices, and even recognize the smells that are characteristic of their timelessly departed loved ones during their lifetime.

Tactile sense of presence

otherworldly presence sensitive people feel like a light touch, or a breeze. Often, mothers who have lost their children, in moments of great grief, feel as if someone is hugging them or stroking their hair.

It is possible that in moments when people experience desire see deceased relatives subtle bodies able to perceive the energies of more subtle planes.

The dead ask for help from the living

Sometimes a person is in an unusual state. He feels that he needs to do something, he is “pulled” somewhere. He does not understand what exactly, but the feeling of confusion does not let him go. He literally does not find a place for himself.

Natalia:

“We came to visit relatives in another city where my grandparents once lived. It was Monday, and tomorrow is Parent's Day. I could not find a place for myself, I was drawn somewhere, I felt that I had to do something. The family discussed tomorrow. They did not remember where my grandfather's grave was located - the cemetery was upset and all the landmarks were removed.

Without telling anyone, I went to the cemetery alone to look for my grandfather's grave. I didn't find her that day. The next day, the third, the fourth - to no avail. And the state does not let go, only intensifies.

Returning to my city, I asked my mother what my grandfather's grave looked like. It turns out that there is a photograph of a stele with a star at the end, on the grandfather's grave. And so we went—this time with my sister and my daughter. And my daughter found his grave!

We put it in order, painted the monument. Now all relatives know where grandfather is buried.

After that, it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. It feels like I should have brought my family to his grave."

calling voice

Sometimes, being in crowded places, you can very clearly hear the calling voice of the deceased, similar to a hail. This happens when mixing sounds, and unexpectedly.

They just sound in real time. It happens that in moments when a person thinks strongly about something, he can hear the clue in the voice of the deceased.

Meeting with the souls of the dead in dreams

There are many people talking about they take off the dead. And the attitude to such meetings in dreams is ambiguous. They scare someone, someone tries to interpret them, believing that an important message is hidden in such a dream. And there are those who do not take dreams of the dead seriously. For them, it's just a dream.

What are the dreams in which we see those who are no longer among us:

• we receive all sorts of warnings about upcoming events;
• in dreams we learn how the souls of the dead “settled” in the other world;
• we understand that they ask for forgiveness for their actions during their lifetime;
• through us they can send messages to others;
• the souls of the dead can ask the living for help.

You can list for a long time the probable reasons why the dead are filmed alive. Only the one who dreamed of the deceased can understand this.

Regardless of how people receive signs from the dead, it is safe to say that they are trying to get in touch with the living.

The souls of our loved ones continue to take care of us even while in subtle world. Unfortunately, not everyone is always ready for such contacts. Most often, this causes panic fear in people. Memories of loved ones are deeply imprinted in our memory.

Perhaps in order to meet with the dead, it is enough to open access to our own subconscious.

The Holy Trinity- God, one in essence and trinity in Persons (); Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Three Persons have:
- one will (desire and will),
- one power
- one action: any action of God is one: from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. The unity of action in relation to God should be understood not as a certain sum of three mutually solid actions of Persons, but as a literal, strict unity. This action is always just, merciful, holy...

The Father is the source of the existence of the Son and the Holy Spirit

The Father (being without beginning) is a single beginning, a source in the Holy Trinity: He eternally gives birth to the Son and eternally brings forth the Holy Spirit. The Son and the Holy Spirit simultaneously ascend to the Father as one cause, while the origin of the Son and the Spirit does not depend on the will of the Father. The Word and the Spirit, according to the figurative expression of the saint, are the "two hands" of the Father. God is one, not only because His nature is one, but also because those Persons that are from Him ascend to a single person.
The Father has no greater authority and honor than the Son and the Holy Spirit.

True knowledge of God the Trinity is impossible without the inner transformation of man

Experienced knowledge of the Trinity of God is possible only in the mystical through the action of the Divine, to a person whose heart is cleansed of. The Holy Fathers experienced the One Trinity contemplated, among them the Great Cappadocians (, ), St. , prp. , prp. , prp. , prp. .

Each of the Persons of the Trinity does not live for Himself, but gives Himself without reserve to the other Hypostases, while remaining completely open to their response, so that all three coexist in love with each other. A life Divine Persons there is an interpenetration so that the life of one becomes the life of the other. Thus, the existence of the God of the Trinity is realized as love, in which the own existence of a person is identified with self-giving.

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the basis of Christianity

The Orthodox Christian every time confesses the truth about Holy Trinity, overshadowing yourself sign of the cross across .

More specifically, this knowledge is necessary:

1. For a correct, meaningful understanding of the Holy Gospel and the apostolic epistles.

Without knowledge of the fundamentals of the doctrine of the Trinity, it is impossible not only to comprehend the preaching of Christ, but it is even impossible to understand Who in reality is this Annunciator and Preacher, who is Christ, whose Son He is, Who is His Father.

2. For a correct understanding of the contents of the Books Old Testament. Indeed, despite the fact that the Scriptures of the Old Testament mainly speak of God as the One Sovereign, it nevertheless contains passages that can be exhaustively interpreted only in the light of the doctrine of Him as the Trinity in Persons.

Such places include, for example:

a) the story of the appearance of God to Abraham in the form of three wanderers ();

b) the verse of the psalmist: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the Spirit of His mouth all their strength” ().

In reality Holy Books The Old Testament contains not two or three, but many such passages.

(It is noteworthy that the concept of "Spirit" does not always mean the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity. Sometimes such a designation means a single Divine action).

3. To understand the meaning and meaning. Without knowledge of the doctrine of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to understand by whom and to whom this Sacrifice was brought, what is the dignity of this Sacrifice, what is the price of ours).

If the Christian's knowledge were limited to the knowledge of God as the One Sovereign, he would face an insoluble question: Why did God bring Himself as a Sacrifice to Himself?

4. Without knowledge of the Divine Trinity, it is impossible to fully understand many other provisions of Christianity; for example, the truth that "God is love" ().

If, due to ignorance of the doctrine of the Trinity, we knew about God only as the One, then we would not know on Whom, outside of relation to the world, His infinite extends, on Whom it poured out before the Creation of the world, in eternity.

If we thought that God's Love extends only to His creation, in particular to man, it would be easy to slip into the idea that He is Loving, and not (in Himself infinite) Love.

The doctrine of the Trinity informs us that God has always abode and abides in intra-trinitarian Love. The Father loves the Son and the Spirit forever; Son - Father and Spirit; Spirit - Father and Son. At the same time, each Divine Hypostasis loves Himself. Therefore, God is not only the one who pours out Divine Love but also the One upon Whom Divine Love is poured.

5. Ignorance of the doctrine of the Trinity is the breeding ground for error. A weak, superficial knowledge of the doctrine of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is also no guarantee against deviation in. The history of the Church contains a lot of confirmation of this.

6. Without knowing the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, it is impossible to engage in missionary work, in fulfillment of the commandment of Christ: “go, teach all nations ...” ().

How to explain the doctrine of the Holy Trinity to a non-Christian?

It is noteworthy that even pagans and atheists can agree with the statement that rationality is seen in the structure of the world. In this respect
this analogy can serve as a good apologetic tool.

The essence of the analogy is as follows. The human mind expresses itself through thought.

Usually human thought is formulated in verbal expression. With this in mind, we can say: a human thought-word is born by the mind (from the mind) in the likeness of how the Divine Word (God the Word, the Son of God) is born by the Father, from the Father.

When we want to express our thought (to voice it, pronounce it), we use the voice. V this case the voice can be called the spokesman of thought. In this one can see the similarity with the Holy Spirit, Who is the Expression of the Word of the Father (the Expression of God the Word, the Son of God).

Pastor Miron VOVK

Hello!
I have a question for you about the Trinity of God. In different denominations this question is explained differently or bypassed. The Triune God - these are three Persons Who are one with each other in deeds, thoughts, etc.? Or is it three Persons in one God?

Some argue that God the Father begat Jesus Christ, that He was not always there. Do you think this is correct?

Others say that God the Father has His Spirit - God's (Spirit of the Father). Jesus Christ has the Spirit of Christ. Or do God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have one Spirit? If a person is mistaken in these matters or is so open to him, then will he not perish in his sincere misunderstanding of the Triune God? I would like to receive comprehensive information on these issues, because it is very important to know how the Bible says this. Thank you in advance.

With respect, Nadezhda

It's great to hear that people are reading and studying the Word of God and meditating on it. We must know very well the One in whom we believe, although even with all our efforts we cannot fully know God, we will always have questions that are difficult to find an answer to. But let us remember the important truth: “The hidden belongs to the Lord our God, but the revealed belongs to us and to our sons forever…” (Deut. 29:29). And to know God is to study what God says about Himself.

In contrast to the pagans who surrounded the Israelites, the people of God believed in one God. Here are some testimonies about God recorded on the pages of Holy Scripture: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one…” (Deut. 6:4). “I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but me…” (Isaiah 45:5). The concept of monotheism is also emphasized in the New Testament. For example, in the Gospel of Mark, the words of Jesus Christ from the book of Deuteronomy quoted above are recorded verbatim. Or the words of the Apostle Paul: “...We have one God the Father, from whom are all things, and we are for Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him” (1 Cor. 8:6). But this belief in one God does not contradict the Christian concept of the Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What does it mean?

In Hebrew, the word "God" is often used in the plural. What does it mean? Such a comparison can be made. In Russian, we use the word "council", for example, village council, city council. And when we hear this expression, we understand that the council always consists of several individuals. It is the same with the word “God” - very often the writers of the Bible, when they convey the direct speech of the Creator, use the appropriate expressions in the plural: “... Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness ...” (Gen. 1:26), “Behold Adam became like one of Us…” (Genesis 3:22). “…Let us go down and confuse their language there…” (Gen. 11:7), etc. Therefore, when we use the word “God”, three Persons of the Godhead are meant at once.

But the writers of Holy Scripture often pay attention to any one Person of the Godhead, singling it out special actions, and then the Spirit of God, God the Father, or Jesus Christ is spoken of as different personalities, for example: “And now the Lord God (Father. - Auth.) has sent Me (the Son of God. - Auth.) and His Spirit (Holy Spirit. - Auth.)” (Is. 48:16).

The first coming of Christ to our earth reveals to us the truth about the Triune God even more clearly. From the Gospel we learn that the Godhead is the unity of three eternal Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There are unique and not always fully understood relationships between these Personalities.

There is no separation between the Personalities of the Triune God, but each Personality has His own divine powers and properties.

In human society, supreme power is concentrated in the hands of one person - the president, king or other ruler. With God, the supreme power belongs to all three Persons of the Godhead. Although God does not exist in one person, He is one in purpose, thought, and character. This unity does not eliminate the characteristics of the Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It can be seen that there is a distribution of functions between the personalities of the Deity. Order is the first law of heaven, and God's actions are in order. And it can be assumed that God the Father acts as the Source, God the Son acts as the Mediator, and God the Holy Spirit brings it to pass.

The incarnation of Jesus Christ perfectly depicts the relationship of the three Persons of the Godhead based on common service. The Father agreed to give His Son, Christ gave Himself, and the Holy Spirit made the birth of Jesus possible. In the words of the angel Mary, the participation of all three Persons of the Godhead in the incarnation of Jesus Christ is clearly shown: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; Therefore also the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). All three Persons of the Godhead were present at the baptism of Christ: the Father supporting the Son (Matt. 3:17), Christ being baptized as an example for us (Matt. 3:13-15), and the Holy Spirit endowing Christ with His power (Matt. 3 :16; Luke 3:21-22).

The early church baptized people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). All three Persons of the Godhead are mentioned in the apostolic blessing: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:13).

In the work of saving people, each Person of the Godhead performs His own special task. The ministry of the Holy Spirit does not complement the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on Calvary cross. The reconciliation accomplished on the cross becomes the property of man when, through the Holy Spirit, Christ enters into the heart of the believer.

Often people misunderstand the truth about God the Father. Many are familiar with what Christ did on earth for mankind and what the Holy Spirit does in the human heart. But they imagine God the Father to be "the God of the Old Testament" and, as some think, He is the God of vengeance, acting on the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (Ex. 21:24). And at the same time, they do not pay attention to the words that speak of the character of God: “... the Lord God is philanthropic and merciful, long-suffering and many-merciful and true, keeping mercy to thousands of generations, forgiving guilt and transgression and sin ...” (Ex. 34: 6-7).

Was there a time when Christ did not exist? If we think humanly, then if Christ was born, it means that at first there was the One Who gave birth to Him. But the Bible does not tell us about such a time. Vice versa, Holy Bible speaks of the eternity and immutability of Christ. The sacred Old Testament names of God - Jehovah, or Yahweh - are also used in relation to Jesus. And the prophecy about the birth of Christ in Bethlehem says that His beginning is from the days of eternity: “And you, Bethlehem-Ephratha, are you small among the thousands of Judas? Out of you will come to Me the one who is to be the ruler in Israel, and whose origin is from the beginning, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2). And what is eternity and infinity, it is difficult for people - temporary inhabitants on earth to understand. Again, the Bible does not tell us about a time when the Father was and the Son did not exist. From the very beginning, we see only Their combined actions.

Different comparisons are often made to explain the Trinity of God. I like the apple comparison. When we say the word "apple", what do we mean by it? Peel, pulp or pips in an apple? Probably all together. But when we want to plant an apple tree, we talk about seeds; when we want to eat an apple, we talk about the pulp; when we want to peel an apple, we talk about the peel. In other words, we pay special attention to that part of the apple, which in this moment we need. Thus, when we single out one of the Persons of the Godhead, we pay special attention to the action of this Person.

The Bible also reveals to us that the Holy Spirit is a Person and not an impersonal force. Reading the Holy Scriptures, we learn that the Holy Spirit has qualities that belong only to the Personality. For example, the expression: "it is pleasing to the Holy Spirit and to us" (Acts 15:28), - the first Christians perceived Him as a Person. The Holy Spirit teaches (Luke 12:12), persuades (John 16:8), directs the affairs of the church (Acts 13:2), helps and intercedes (Rom. 8:26), has feelings, and can be offended (Eph. 4:30), is neglected by people (Gen. 6:3). These actions of the Holy Spirit characterize Him as a Person, and not as an impersonal force emanating from God.

From the very beginning, the Holy Spirit coexisted inseparably with God the Father and God the Son. He carries out God's plan for man in this world. According to the Bible, the Holy Spirit took part in the creation of the earth. Life originates from Him, and it is sustained by Him. The special ministry of the Spirit is reflected in the fact that He creates a new heart in a person who is open to God. The Lord transforms and creates man by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The truth about the Holy Spirit is also revealed through Jesus Christ. When the Holy Spirit descends on believers, He acts as the Spirit of Christ, and His main activity is centered on the saving mission of Christ. The mission of Jesus Christ and the mission of the Holy Spirit are completely interconnected.

The question is often asked: who has the right to send the Holy Spirit into this world - Jesus Christ or God the Father? When Christ speaks of the mission of the Holy Spirit in this world, He speaks of two sources from which He proceeds. Christ points to God the Father: “And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, may he be with you forever ...”, and also to Himself: “... I ... will send Him (the Holy Spirit. - Auth.) to you ... " ((John 14:16; 16:7). Other similar statements can be cited. Therefore, the Holy Spirit proceeds both from the Father and from the Son. always clear.On any matter, the three Persons of the Godhead have no different opinions because everything they do is perfect.

And your last question: if a person is mistaken in the question of understanding the Divine, will he not perish? The question of salvation or death of a person is decided only by God. It is not given to us to judge the eternal fate of man. Solution God's judgment will be right, just and final. You can fool people, but you can't fool God. He knows not only our actions, but also all our intentions, motives, desires. If a person did not know how to properly serve God, because he had no opportunity to find out, this is one situation. And if a person had the opportunity and did not want to know the full truth, the situation is completely different. It is even worse if a person knows how to serve God, but does not want to humble himself before Him. We must make every effort to apply what we learn about how to serve God to our daily lives. And with your life to glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. “... So that everyone honors the Son, as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” (John 5:23).

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I often hear people ask with a smirk question: "So your this God One or Triune? Do you have one God or three?”

Trinity of God- it question on which many people stumble. It seems to them that something does not fit here ... How can God be one and at the same time triune?

For this reason, at the dawn of Christianity, the Arian movement appeared, the founder of which was a certain Arius. He could not understand the logic of the trinity of God in any way, as a result of which he began to completely deny it.

Although the word " Trinity” is not found in the Bible, this concept did not arise from scratch. There are many texts that clearly show that the "Trinity" is not fiction, but reality.

I will cite just a few texts in order not to be unfounded. I'll start with circumstantial evidence: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.". (Gen.1:26) It is very strange why the word "God" is in the singular, and the word "let's make" in the plural? After all, it was logical to write: And God said, I will make man in my own image and likeness...» The fact is that in the original, in the Hebrew language, the verb “let’s create” is in the plural, therefore the word is translated into Russian in the same way. But someone will say: “That doesn’t mean anything!”

Maybe, but for me it says a lot. Now let's move on to the main text: And having been baptized, Jesus immediately went up out of the water, and lo, the heavens were opened to Him, and [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and descending upon Him. And behold, a voice from heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". (Mat. 3:16,17) All three Persons of God are clearly present here: Jesus, who was baptized, the Spirit of God, who descended in the form of a dove, and God the Father, speaking from heaven. All three at the same time.

Someone will say: "Well, everything is clear, you have three Gods." But it's not! The Bible clearly says: Hear Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; » (Deut.6:4) The truth is that in this case both statements are true. God is One and at the same time Triune. I agree that in our human logic it doesn't fit in at all. But don't be so quick to dismiss this truth just for that reason.

In one of the issues of the magazine around the world in 2006, an article was published that scientists had discovered the amazing properties of the electron. It turns out that the electron has the properties of both a particle and a wave at the same time. A particle is a material element that, subject to certain laws of physics, cannot pass through solid obstacles. Wave same, has right opposite properties, - she is able to easily penetrate solid physical barriers. Paradoxical as it may seem, these two characteristics belong to the same object. This is absolutely illogical! But no one laughs at scientists and asks them questions like: “So, is an electron a particle or a wave?” In addition, scientists have determined that the electron has the property of being in several places at the same time.

The question arises: If there is only one electron, then it can be at one point in time only at one point in space, either here or there. But, despite this, an electron at one moment of time can be simultaneously at several points in space, both here and there! .. This contradicts all logic, but for some reason no one raises questions about illogicality.

You and I are talking about the One Who created the electron, about the One Who is the cause of all causes and the Beginning of everything that exists. There is a well-known law of cause and effect, which says that the effect cannot be greater than the cause. The creator is always many orders of magnitude superior to his creation. Thus, if God created an electron that can combine several directly opposite characteristics and be in several places at one time, then He, as the Creator, must surpass His creation in His essence. If God created an infinite universe, then He Himself must be even more infinite than the universe. Based on the foregoing, it turns out that the trinity of the One God is not at all surprising, even if such paradoxical things exist in our material world.

In conclusion, I want to give an illustration that I really like, I read it in the book of Clive Lewis "Mere Christianity" The essence of the illustration is as follows:

We live in a world where there are three dimensions: width, height and depth. If you remove the depth and height, then only one dimension remains. In one dimension, we can only draw one straight line.

If we add a second dimension: "Height", then certain shapes can already be made from straight lines: Square, rhombus, triangle, etc. in this case it turns out that 3=1, 4=1, etc.

If we add a third dimension, then we can create three-dimensional figures from the same line that was in one dimension. Here already 12=1.

It turns out that several lines transferred to another dimension can form more complex shapes that cannot be made with only one dimension.

The Bible says that God is: King of kings and Lord of lords, the only one who has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see..."(1 Tim. 6:15,16)

God dwells in unapproachable light. It is possible that God has many more dimensions than people are able to perceive. And, perhaps, in these dimensions, individuals can create more complex composite personalities that we, humans, cannot understand and imagine, much less explain.

God left us in the Bible illustrations of such a unity of several. Here is an example: " Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and cling to his wife; and they will be one flesh.» (Gen.2:24) Here God says that husband and wife are one. In other words, God has a different math: He has 1+1=1. It seems, well, how can they be one flesh? Are there two of them? And you try to separate loving husband and wife? This will lead to a lot of pain! Why? After all, these are two different person! The truth is that the connection between these people takes place on a completely different level, perhaps in another dimension. We can observe the result of this connection only by the consequences, but we cannot see it with our eyes.

The Apostle Paul goes much further in one of his epistles. See what he writes: Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the Church". (Eph.5:31-33)

In this text, App. Paul not only repeats what God said about man and woman, he goes much further and says that this same unity applies to both Christ and the Church. Here the equation is more complicated. It turns out God the Father + Son + Holy Spirit = one whole. We talked about this earlier. But here it turns out that Jesus + many billions of Christians who have entered the church throughout history, in the end, also give one unit. In short, 1+ 10,000,000,000… = 1. It's hard to imagine, but I'm just talking about what is written in Scripture. And this does not mean that all Christians will merge into a common "nirvana" and cease to be individuals. No, the Bible says that each person will remain individual, but as a whole, these individual individuals will form a kind of composite personality, which the Bible calls the "Church of Jesus Christ." God speaks of her as one person, look here: "And I heard a voice numerous people like the noise of many waters, like the voice of mighty thunders, saying: Alleluia! for the Lord God Almighty reigned. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory; for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has prepared herself. And it was given to her to put on fine linen, clean and bright; the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints". (Rev. 19:6-8)

Here the Bible speaks of the Church as the Wife of Jesus Christ, as one person.

Thus, after a little reflection, we see that the trinity of God is something that is quite the place to be. Especially if we are talking about the One Whom our little brain is unable to understand and contain!

They say that Augustine, when he decided to write his treatise on the essence of God, he walked along the ocean, thinking about the greatness of God, and saw little boy who dug a hole in the sand on the shore, and with a small spoon draws water from the ocean and pours it into this hole. Augustine asked him what he was doing, the boy replied:
“I want to pour all the water from the ocean into this hole.
“How is this possible,” Augustine laughed, “the ocean is so huge, boundless, and the hole is so small!”
And the boy - to him:
“But how do you want to comprehend the infinite wisdom of the Almighty with your small mind!” and disappeared.

Similarly, some people try to measure the Almighty with earthly standards, explain Him with logic, and squeeze His incomprehensibility into our earthly frame of perception of the universe.

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19 Comment. to the article “One or triune?”

1. admin Writes:
   

   To Victor: God created the possibility of a real choice for a person, because without a choice there can be no love.
   If I am given one item, then I have to take it, because I do not have the opportunity to compare it with another and make a choice. But when I am offered 2 options, in this case I have the choice to give my preference to one or the other option.
   If there were no choice, people would be robots doomed to perform certain actions.
   God used the error of the devil, who was once an archangel with Him, in order to give people a choice between good and evil.

   Definitive answer please! God is triune?????
   Or weakly answer a simple question????

2. victor writes:
   

   I understand that it is necessary in life to constantly analyze your behavior, realize your sins, repent of them and in the future try with all your might to prevent them.
   I don't understand the following.
   If God is omnipotent, omniscient, everything is created by him and everything is controlled by him, including man, then why did God make it so that man initially sinned and continues to sin now? That is, God, creating everything, created sin, created Satan? As one priest told me, God did not create sin and Satan, he allowed them to arise. Let me disagree. God created everything! And that means sin. What for? Here's what I don't understand. And I don't think anyone understands. It is not given to us, obviously, to know the meaning, purpose, aspirations of God, no matter what they say about this and whoever says it!
   We cannot, and obviously should not, comprehend with our minds what heaven or hell really is. All statements on this subject (“fire hyena” or “ paradise”, etc.) is only our imagination and nothing more. We are not able to comprehend (at least during our earthly life) what it really is.

3. Svetlana writes:
   

   Thanks for the article. Very clearly explained!

4. Peter writes:
   

   Good evening, such a question: the fact that God He is God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit is clear to us, we are those who serve God) but how to wisely convey this to false religions where people are subject to deception go to hell, for example, witnesses? They have people there who are not familiar with the truth at all, so how can I explain this to them?