Noteworthy is that the fact that the Bible reveals God as triune sets it apart from other worldly sources that claim a similar revelation. The uniqueness of the one true faith that sets it apart from anything that names itself as thus is that its vision of God is nothing like the 'gods' of false religions or cults.

As proven in the other two posts: There is only 1 God. God is 1 Being.

The Son is God.
The Father is God.
The Holy Spirit is God.

Yet, there are not 3 Gods, but 1 God, because God is one being (Mark 12:29, Deuteronomy 6:4). Each of the three is God, without there being 3 beings, but 3 persons of 1 Being, who are distinct, yet 1.

The Father is Not the Son, The Father is Not the Holy Spirit, The Son is Not the Father, The Son is Not the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is Not the Son, The Holy Spirit is Not the Father - but God eternally exists as 3 persons, yet 1 being.

Also important to note is that since they eternally exist as 3 persons, not one person comes or came before another. If you could talk this way about God (because the Creator, by nature being the Creator, is uncreated) - The Son didn't come or exist before the Father, The Father didn't come or exist before the Son, and the same with the Holy Spirit. The uncaused, uncreated, self-existent God eternally exists as 3 persons - and has always for all of eternity. And so the Person of the Son, pre-existant who became flesh (John 1:14), has always been with God the Father as God, fully who He is now, having never been created or formed. An earthly analogy is to say that Jesus is the 'son' of God rather than the Son of God. What I mean by this is to carnalize the view of the Son and say that the Father had to create or give birth to the Son - Jesus Christ has always been with the Father, pre-existant throughout all eternity. Verses that illustrate this are John 1:1, John 1:14, Revelations 19:13, 1 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 1:8-12, Psalm 45:6-7, John 20:28, Isaiah 9:6, Phil. 2:5-8, Col. 2:9, Matt 22:44, Psalm 110:1, to name a few. The death of the Son - this is possible because He had a dual nature - not only is He fully God, but He's also now fully human - God displayed attributes of both natures, yet was without sin.

More reflections on this later (hopefully).

Found this on a helpful site. www.allaboutGod.com/

What does the Bible say about being a living sacrifice unto the Lord?

Sacrifice is defined by Nelson's Bible Dictionary as "The ritual through which the Hebrew people offered the blood or the flesh of an animal to God as a 'substitute payment' for their sin." Then what is a living sacrifice? How are we to offer our lives as a sacrifice to God?

The following verses describe what the Bible says about being a living sacrifice unto the Lord:

Romans 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."
1 Peter 2:1-5 reads: "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:1-2 says, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
2 Corinthians 4:6-12 reads: "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you."
Hebrews 13:15-16 says, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."
Psalm 51:17 declares: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

God is far away from any man who's heart is proud, or establishes his own goodness before His goodness. He says, 'Well, I'm not that bad of a person, really,' and they make justify what they do see as bad by saying, 'Well, everyone else does it. My friends do it, so it must be okay.' But, God sees not only the outside, but the heart - when you think, 'well, deep down, I really don't mean wrong,' when the heart is deceitful and deceptive, and doesn't want to see itself in truth! Really, consider yourself the way God wants you to see yourself. Look into the mirror of what you're going to be judged by on Judgment day - the law, or 10 commandments. Have you committed adultery? The bible so clearly declares that the thoroughness of the law isn't only to your actions, but the thoughts and intents of your heart - Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-32 that if you've even looked at a woman to lust after her, you've sinned against God and you'll be judged as an adulterer (or fornicator if you're not married), on the day of judgment. Please, lets see ourselves in truth.

To the Christian who is struggling with pride - God wants us to clothe ourselves in humility and patience and kindness of heart, which is how God is. What children don't resemble their father? Since we're saved by God's grace and mercy through faith on the Son of God, lets examine ourselves - do we have pride in our heart? Who have we really been serving lately - God? Or ourselves? If you're serving yourself, you're not serving God. Lets turn our hearts from the worldly, ungodly attention, turn off televisions, stop reading romance novels that have us dwell on our lustful imagination, and turn our hearts and attentions to God in His Word. Scripture isn't just inspired, written by God, but it's revelation of God - when you open the Word, God is teaching. If you want to heart the voice of God, read your bible out loud.

To whomever reads, get to know Jesus better! Be a man (or woman) of one man - Jesus. Follow in His footsteps. When it gets hard, lean on His broad shoulders, because He carries our burdens.

Here are some verses on pride and humility to help you, whoever you are. God loves you, so I loves you, too!

Pride:
"The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts." (Psalms 10:4)
"Though the LORD is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar." (Psalm 138:6)
"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate." (Proverbs ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microso ft-com:office:smarttags&q uot; />8:13)
"When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)
"By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom." (Proverbs 13:10)
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18)
"Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; though they join forces, none will go unpunished." (Proverbs 16:5)
"A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor." (Proverbs 29:23)
Psalm 103:11-12 says, "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
Ephesians 4:32 says, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
Colossians 3:12 says, "Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."
Philippians 2:3 says, "Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself."
1 Corinthians 4:7 says, "What makes you better than anyone else? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?"
Philippians 2:5-8 says, "Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross."
1 Peter 5:6 says, "So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you."
Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. - Proverbs 11:2
Fear of the LORD teaches a person to be wise; humility precedes honor. - Proverbs 15:33
Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor. - Proverbs 18:12
True humility and fear of the LORD lead to riches, honor, and long life. - Proverbs 22:4
Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. - Proverbs 29:23
You younger men, accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, serve each other in humility, for "God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble."*1 - 1 Peter 5:5

Some of these I got from www.AllaboutGod.com/

Trinity

1. The Bible says that there is only one God: Deuteronomy 6:4 (cross ref. Matt ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microso ft-com:office:smarttags&q uot; />12:29), Isaiah 43:10, 44:6-8, 45:5,14,18,21,22, 46:9 (and an indirect reference in 47:8).

    

2. The Bible also names 3 persons as God:
   
   

    

   1. God the Father – 1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 4:4-6
      
      

       

   2. God the Son (Jesus Christ, the Word) – John 1:1-5, 1:14 (cross ref. 1 John 4:2-3), John 8:58 (cross ref. John 8:24, Exodus 3:14), John 10:30-33, 20:28, Col. 2:9, Phil. 2:5-8, Heb. 1:8,6, also Phil 2:9-11 (cross ref. Isaiah 45:23).
      Note: Jesus is worshipped several times throughout scripture, whereas worship is commanded only to be given and received by God (Matt. 4:10, Luke 4:8, Exodus 20:5,6).
      
      

       

   3. God the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) – Acts 5:3-4, 2 Corinthians 3:16-17 (cross ref. Exodus 34:34), Isaiah 63:10

       

3. God in the Old Testament talks about Himself in the plural.

    

   1. Gen. 1:26 – Let us make man in our image…

       

   2. Gen. 3:22 - …become like one of us...

       

   3. Isaiah 6:8 - …and who will go for us…

       

   4. Psalms 45:6, cross ref. Heb 1:6-8 – God said to my God – The context is the Father speaking and since it is requited in Hebrews 1:6-8, the New Testament reveals that God the Father was calling the Son God, illustrating an agreement between the persons that each individually is God, yet there is but one God

       

   5. Malachi 3:1-2, Hosea 1:7 - God is speaking about the Lord, speaking of another person who is called Lord in the third person, who is God Himself.

       

4. The Pre-existence of the Son – The Second Person in God's being added humanity to His deity - Psalms 110:1, cross ref. Matt. 22:44, Mr. 12:36, Luke 20:41-44, Heb 1:13 – Jesus quotes Psalms 110:1 where Jesus says that this is a direct reference to Himself, the Christ, in the Old Testament. The Christ is called Lord here, and is with God, pre-existent to His appearance on earth in the New Testament. Also, it is noteworthy that Jesus quotes Psalms 110:1 in a dispute with Jewish leaders, the Pharisees, in Luke 20:41-44, proving and showing them from the psalms that the Christ is not only pre-existent and not of human origin, but the Lord of the Old Testament that spoke to David who would be both God and man.

    

5. The Person-hood of the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit in several passages such as these is spoken of as a personal, living, thinking, feeling individual, like the Father. For example, the Holy Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30, Isaiah 63:10), can teach and is referred to as someone separate from Jesus (John 14:26), can speak (Acts 13:2), and intercede or be sent (Romans 8:27), and many other examples.

    

   1. John 14:26 Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will teach us – teaching is an activity that is personal, and this passage also refers to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, or Helper.

       

   2. John 16:13-15 refers to the Holy Spirit as distinct from the Father and the Son and the Son says that the Holy Spirit will guide us.

       

   3. In Acts 16:6-7, the narrative of the passage talks about the Holy Spirit telling Paul and Silas not to preach in one area and directing them to another – some translations have 'the Spirit of Jesus,' which is another reference to the Holy Spirit.

       

   4. In Acts 10:38 – 'How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power…' – if the Holy Spirit were just the 'power' of God or some force, it would read differently, such as, 'with the power of God,' but passages such as these show how the Holy Spirit and the power of God are different (1 Thess. 1:5, and the ones above show how the Holy Spirit is not impersonal, but a person of God (for example, in 2 Cor. 3:17 we find that, like Jesus, the Holy Spirit is called Lord).

       

6. The Three Persons mentioned together – The bible mentions them together over 60 times

    

   1. Here are some: Matt 3:16,17, Matt 28:19, 2 Cor. 13:14, Ephessians 4:4-6, Titus 3:4-6, John 14:26, John 3:34, and many others.

       

   2. Think of when Jesus was baptized in Matt. 3:16-17 – The Father spoke from heaven, Jesus was being baptized, and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven – all 3 appeared, and all 3 were distinct from each other, yet there is but 1 God. This then occurs in all 4 gospels: Mark 1:10-11, Luke 3:22, and John 1:32.

       

7. 1 Cor. 12:1-6 – This passage shows that there is a pattern in the New Testament where the Greek word for 'Lord' (kurios) is usually applied to the Son and the Greek word for 'God' (theos) is generally applied to the Father, but as we have seen, these are divine names and titles that directly refer to each person being God.

    

   1. The Greek word Lord (kurios) is applied to Jesus. The Hebrew equivalent refers to the person of the Son over 6,800 times in the Old Testament. It is one of the Old Testament names for God: Spirit, Lord and God (3 persons).

       

1. Examine this passage: 2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.
   Here, the Son is called Lord, the Father is called God, and then there is the person of the Holy Spirit.

    

2. Examine this passage: John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. (NIV) Psalm 110:1

    

3. Examine these:

    

1. From these passages, and many others, we see that the Father is usually called God, the Son is usually called Lord, and the person of the Holy Spirit is usually called Holy Spirit, or Spirit – even though each person individually is called God or Lord in others passages and each person is distinct from the other two (Jude 1:20-21, and so on). There is one God as three persons.

    

Trinity

1. The Bible says that there is only one God: Deuteronomy 6:4 (cross ref. Matt ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microso ft-com:office:smarttags&q uot; />12:29), Isaiah 43:10, 44:6-8, 45:5,14,18,21,22, 46:9 (and an indirect reference in 47:8).

    

2. The Bible also names 3 persons as God:
   
   

    

   1. God the Father – 1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 4:4-6
      
      

       

   2. God the Son (Jesus Christ, the Word) – John 1:1-5, 1:14 (cross ref. 1 John 4:2-3), John 8:58 (cross ref. John 8:24, Exodus 3:14), John 10:30-33, 20:28, Col. 2:9, Phil. 2:5-8, Heb. 1:8,6, also Phil 2:9-11 (cross ref. Isaiah 45:23).
      Note: Jesus is worshipped several times throughout scripture, whereas worship is commanded only to be given and received by God (Matt. 4:10, Luke 4:8, Exodus 20:5,6).
      
      

       

   3. God the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) – Acts 5:3-4, 2 Corinthians 3:16-17 (cross ref. Exodus 34:34), Isaiah 63:10

       

3. God in the Old Testament talks about Himself in the plural.

    

   1. Gen. 1:26 – Let us make man in our image…

       

   2. Gen. 3:22 - …become like one of us...

       

   3. Isaiah 6:8 - …and who will go for us…

       

   4. Psalms 45:6, cross ref. Heb 1:6-8 – God said to my God – The context is the Father speaking and since it is requited in Hebrews 1:6-8, the New Testament reveals that God the Father was calling the Son God, illustrating an agreement between the persons that each individually is God, yet there is but one God

       

   5. Malachi 3:1-2, Hosea 1:7 - God is speaking about the Lord, speaking of another person who is called Lord in the third person, who is God Himself.

       

4. The Pre-existence of the Son – The Second Person in God's being added humanity to His deity - Psalms 110:1, cross ref. Matt. 22:44, Mr. 12:36, Luke 20:41-44, Heb 1:13 – Jesus quotes Psalms 110:1 where Jesus says that this is a direct reference to Himself, the Christ, in the Old Testament. The Christ is called Lord here, and is with God, pre-existent to His appearance on earth in the New Testament. Also, it is noteworthy that Jesus quotes Psalms 110:1 in a dispute with Jewish leaders, the Pharisees, in Luke 20:41-44, proving and showing them from the psalms that the Christ is not only pre-existent and not of human origin, but the Lord of the Old Testament that spoke to David who would be both God and man.

    

5. The Person-hood of the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit in several passages such as these is spoken of as a personal, living, thinking, feeling individual, like the Father. For example, the Holy Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30, Isaiah 63:10), can teach and is referred to as someone separate from Jesus (John 14:26), can speak (Acts 13:2), and intercede or be sent (Romans 8:27), and many other examples.

    

   1. John 14:26 Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will teach us – teaching is an activity that is personal, and this passage also refers to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, or Helper.

       

   2. John 16:13-15 refers to the Holy Spirit as distinct from the Father and the Son and the Son says that the Holy Spirit will guide us.

       

   3. In Acts 16:6-7, the narrative of the passage talks about the Holy Spirit telling Paul and Silas not to preach in one area and directing them to another – some translations have 'the Spirit of Jesus,' which is another reference to the Holy Spirit.

       

   4. In Acts 10:38 – 'How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power…' – if the Holy Spirit were just the 'power' of God or some force, it would read differently, such as, 'with the power of God,' but passages such as these show how the Holy Spirit and the power of God are different (1 Thess. 1:5, and the ones above show how the Holy Spirit is not impersonal, but a person of God (for example, in 2 Cor. 3:17 we find that, like Jesus, the Holy Spirit is called Lord).

       

6. The Three Persons mentioned together – The bible mentions them together over 60 times

    

   1. Here are some: Matt 3:16,17, Matt 28:19, 2 Cor. 13:14, Ephessians 4:4-6, Titus 3:4-6, John 14:26, John 3:34, and many others.

       

   2. Think of when Jesus was baptized in Matt. 3:16-17 – The Father spoke from heaven, Jesus was being baptized, and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven – all 3 appeared, and all 3 were distinct from each other, yet there is but 1 God. This then occurs in all 4 gospels: Mark 1:10-11, Luke 3:22, and John 1:32.

       

7. 1 Cor. 12:1-6 – This passage shows that there is a pattern in the New Testament where the Greek word for 'Lord' (kurios) is usually applied to the Son and the Greek word for 'God' (theos) is generally applied to the Father, but as we have seen, these are divine names and titles that directly refer to each person being God.

    

   1. The Greek word Lord (kurios) is applied to Jesus. The Hebrew equivalent refers to the person of the Son over 6,800 times in the Old Testament. It is one of the Old Testament names for God: Spirit, Lord and God (3 persons).

       

1. Examine this passage: 2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.
   Here, the Son is called Lord, the Father is called God, and then there is the person of the Holy Spirit.

    

2. Examine this passage: John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. (NIV) Psalm 110:1

    

3. Examine these:

    

1. From these passages, and many others, we see that the Father is usually called God, the Son is usually called Lord, and the person of the Holy Spirit is usually called Holy Spirit, or Spirit – even though each person individually is called God or Lord in others passages and each person is distinct from the other two (Jude 1:20-21, and so on). There is one God as three persons.

    

To my brothers and sisters in Christ,
At a church I once attended, the Pastor stood up and said, 'Because of the church's failure to teach the church doctrine, we have fallen victim to many cults.' This is a very agreeable statement - the apostles in the bible taught doctrine (a word that just means teaching), and Paul instructed Timothy to give his attention to doctrine in 1 Timothy 4:13-16, that we should meditate on the teachings of the bible and immerse ourselves through exhortation, public reading, exercising the things of the Word - a careful attention to doctrine. Lets be people that know what the Lord Jesus Christ taught, that are eager for these things. Address the hard questions of faith - why does God allow suffering? How is God triune? What was accomplished at Calvary when Jesus Christ died on the cross? I tackled the question, Why did Jesus die to set us free from sin, when I was being delivered from sexual immorality by God, and that was a turning point in my life that I remember nearly every day, and God was at work at those times. God opens our ears and causes us to hear His voice and understand scripture. Lets give God our hearts in careful attention to doctrine!

The Jehovah's Witness cult believe that Jesus is not divine when the bible indisputably says that He is God. They'll even quote Greek out of context to prove their faulty theological foundation! Really, there are hundreds of scriptures that directly say that Jesus Christ is God, not just a handful. But they cannot reconcile the thought because they have rejected the teaching of the trinity. This is what the bible declares, and they've rejected it! The Oneness pentacostals are the same - they completely reinterpret every verse that they see to fit the cultic view of God that they have - even in Matt. 28:19, when it says, In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, speaking individually in the Greek that the 'name' is distributed among the three, they reinterpret to fit the Oneness Pent. view they've been indoctrinated into and that of the 'Apostolic' movement say that it's saying, 'In the name singular, so it's saying just Jesus. Father, Son, and Spirit are just Jesus - that's not only modalistic, but it's heresy. God isn't - He was the Father, then He became the Son, and now He's the Holy Spirit. That's modalism, a known heresy that the church has rejected for thousands of years. The scriptures declare the pre-existance of the Son, making each distinct from the other before the creation of the world and before Christ's incarnation into a flesh body, adding humanity to His deity - the Father is the Father while the Son is the Son while the Spirit is the Spirit, distinct from each other. But unless you've seen it in scripture, you wouldn't know! You'd get fooled by someone else's opinion of God, that the Bible doesn't declare, whereas these cults cut-and-paste scripture together in order to support their very carnal interpretations of scripture. As Luther said to Erasmus, their theology is too human. The grace of God comes from God - not men. The doctrines the apostles taught aren't from human origin, but come from Jesus Christ!

And if you didn't know your church history, they could fool you there, too. The teaching of the trinity is apostolic, believed on by the early church, seen in the writings of first century church fathers such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Polycarp, and so on (google them! they're great). The word 'trinity' just wasn't used to reference or describe the teaching until later, but the teaching of the trinity has always been with the church, the true view of God. The fact that Jesus Christ is God and is divine wasn't something that came out of some 4th century church meeting (they'll usually say, Nicean meeting).They met not to decide on what it is or concoct it or anything of the sort. The word 'trinity' was first used to relate it to God by Theophilus, 6th bishop of Antioch, Syria, in 168 AD! It was in his work, 'Refutation of Autolycus.' Also, there are numerous quotes from early church fathers you can use that are all trinitarian. I'd also be familiar with the heretical views, too - God is triune, as opposed to a Unitarian view of God or a Binitarian view. There's not 3 Gods in 3 persons, or 1 Person in 3 Gods, that would be Polytheism, when the bible so clearly says there's only one God (Deut 6:4). Even then - there's not 1 Person in 3 persons, yet one God. There's not 3 persons in 1 person, yet one God. Those would be modalism - different modes or manifestations of God. But the bible says that the Father is God, that the Son is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there's only 1 being called God. Each individual person - the person of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - is fully God individually, eternally existing as distinct from each other, yet as 1 being. This can get very confusing - but God is three persons, 1 being. They'll quote you an example - You have a son. The son is your child, and so how can there be only 1 being if Jesus is the Son? But to be the Son is to be the second person in the Godhead - their example doesn't fit the teaching of the bible. Instead, here's a better illustration - you yourself are a triune being. You have a distinct body, soul, and spirit (1 Thess 5:23). Your body is you, your soul is you, and your spirit is you. The bible says 'the Word of God is quick and powerful, even dividing the soul and spirit' and makes a distinction between the two. The trichotomy in ourselves reflects the fact that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet 1 being - since we're 1 being. It's not 1 + 1 + 1 = 3, it's 1 x 1 x 1 = 1 !!!

Lets study it! Doctrine isn't just for theologians and pastors - it's for us! The whole body of Christ. Lets spend some time with God at His feet, hearing His good doctrine, just as in John says about Mary sitting at Jesus's feet, hearing His good doctrine - it wont be taken away from her, Jesus says.

In order to spot fake money, bank tellers train to familiarize themselves with real money, so that when the fake money hits their hands, they know immediately - because they've spent time learning what real money is like. Lets spend time with the real Jesus, learning about His every way, and imitating and becoming like Him. If you don't have the Son, like the different counter-Christian cults, you don't have the Father. If you have the Son, you have the Father. Lets keep ourselves from idols with the correct vision of God!

I got this from apologetics website www.carm.org/ If you memorize the references and remember what passages they refer to (like John 1:1 - that one isn't too hard to remember and should be easy, look that one up), you have a great list of proof texts in case you encounter someone who's involved heavily in a cult and it ends up in a doctrine warfare. Remember, the servant of God must not quarrel - lets represent the Gospel that God's saved us with by imitating Jesus and being as docile as a lamb, but speaking boldly against hypocrisy and fallacies in truth. Remember to remember the wording of it, because they can easily twist scripture and read into the passage rather than out of the passage. It's also helpful to know the context of each paragraph and how it all relates. Learn, also, the cross-reference. For example, John 8:58 where Jesus says, 'before Abraham was, I AM,' can be cross-referenced with Exodus 3:14. It's also helpful to know it from different translations, that way you can angle it if they try to attack the translation.

 .    & nbsp;  Within these verses are the essentials: Christ is God in flesh (John 1:1,14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9); Salvation is received by faith (John 1:12; Rom. 10:9-10), therefore it is by grace; and the resurrection is mentioned in verse 4.  Therefore, this gospel message automatically includes the essentials.
CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS AND RESEARCH MINISTRY © Matthew J. Slick