| Gary Habermas vs. Anthony Flew |
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Jeremiah 29.13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart Acts 17.27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. Galatians 1.13 For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. 14 And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood... |
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Anyone who truly seeks to know God can find Him, for He has made Himself known and available to all through Jesus Christ His only begotten Son.
Galatians 1.13 For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. 14 And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood... |
| MESSIAH: MAN OR GOD / GOD: THREE OR ONE OR THREE IN ONE? |
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Rabbi Kaplan in his book ‘The Real Messiah?’ which is an attack on the view that Jesus is Messiah writes: ‘The Jewish concept of the Messiah is that which is clearly developed by the prophets of the Bible. He is a leader of the Jews, strong in wisdom, power and spirit. It is he who will bring complete redemption to the Jewish people, both spiritually and physically. Along with this he will bring eternal peace, love, prosperity, and moral perfection to the entire world. The Jewish Messiah is truly human in origin. He is born of ordinary human parents, and is of flesh and blood like all mortals.’ If the answer is nothing or virtually nothing how can we find out about what God is like? If we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, therefore reveals what God is like, do we take our view of God from this source or from traditions and teachings of men? If we believe that God loves or that God is love, how was this love expressed before the creation? Love requires relationship. Relationship requires plurality not absolute unity. The concept of three in one is to be found in an extraordinary number of aspects of the created world. The universe is made up of space, time and matter. Space consists of length, breadth and height / depth. Time is past, present and future. Matter is energy, motion and phenomenon. Water is ice, liquid and steam. Atoms are made up of protons, electrons and neutrons. Human beings are body, soul and spirit. In the Hebrew Bible there are three sections – Torah, Prophets and Writings. Three patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is a unity of priests, Levites and Israelites. There are three pilgrim festivals – Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. All these scriptures speak of the Holy Spirit as a person who can be grieved by human rejection of the Lord but who is able to come and dwell within those who call on His name for salvation. September 2003 updated May 2007. |
| Trinity - What does the New Testament say? |
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Although the word ‘Trinity’ never appears in the Bible, the idea that God is a plural unity is present in both Old and New Testaments. Certain verses clearly point to this. Isaiah 48.16, Matthew 28.19, Luke 3.21-22, John 14.26, 15.26, 16.13-15, Acts 10.38, 2 Corinthians 13.14, 1 Peter 1.2. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three persons in one. Each has a work to do in relation to our salvation. The Father sends the Son into the world. The Son dies for our sins and rises from the dead. The Holy Spirit bears witness to the Son and indwells the believer. There is not an order of authority – 1. The Father, 2. The Son, 3. The Holy Spirit. Each one is God. They are equal, eternal and each one is separate but in union with the other. The fact that it is hard to understand should not put us off believing it. Who says we can understand God anyway? We can only understand what God chooses to reveal about Himself to us. Many aspects of the created order reflect the triune nature of God. Human beings are body, soul and spirit. Time is past, present and future. We live in a three dimensional world. Water comes as ice, liquid and steam. Because of the difficulty of understanding the concept of the Trinity, other faiths and the cults have made this their main line of attack on Christianity. Whatever cult you are looking at you can be sure that they will deny some aspect of God as a Tri-unity – Islam, liberal theology, JWs, Mormons, etc. Thus fulfilling 1 John 2.18-23, 4.1-4. The Tenach (Old Testament) reveals that God appeared in human form to the Patriarchs, that many prophecies of the Messiah point to him being a divine person and how the words used to describe God often point to a plural unity rather than an absolute unity demanded by Judaism. In the New Testament it is clear that Jesus has an extraordinary nature which means that He is God, not just a great man or even a messenger / angel of God. John’s Gospel is the one which emphasises most the divinity of the Messiah. John 1.1-14, John 5.22-30, 8.56-59, 10.30-33, 17.5. Jesus is the Word through whom creation came into being, He is the one who will judge all mankind, He is present before the creation of the world, He is one with the Father.The Synoptic Gospels also clearly teach the divine nature of the Messiah. Examples: Luke 1.30-38. The annunciation to Mary by the Angel Gabriel points to the divine nature of the One to be born of her. Mark 2.1-12. This miracle clearly shows Jesus’ authority to forgive sins, which only God can do. Matthew 26.63-66. Jesus’ statement at his trial is interpreted by his enemies as blasphemy, so they understood that he was claiming to be equal with God. Paul’s letters teach that Jesus is God. Philippians 2.6-11, Colossians 2.9, 1 Timothy 3.16, Titus 2.13. Jesus was worshipped on earth and in heaven. Matthew 2.11, 14.33, 28.9, John 20.28, Revelation 1.17, 5.8-14. He never rebuked anyone for worshipping Him. When anyone worships someone who should not be worshipped in the New Testament they are always told not to, because only God should be worshipped. Acts 13.8-18, Revelation 19.10, 22.8-9. Although there are fewer scriptures which point to the Holy Spirit as God, it is clear that this is the teaching of the Bible. The Holy Spirit is a Person whom the Lord Jesus sends to dwell within and empower believers. Matthew 3.11, Luke 11.13, 24.49, Acts 1.8, 2.38. The Holy Spirit bears witness to the fact that we are children of God. Romans 8.16, Galatians 4.6, 1 John 3.24, 4.13, 5.6. The Holy Spirit is a person whom we can sin against. Isaiah 63.10, Matthew 12.31, Acts 5.3, Ephesians 4.30, 1 Thessalonians 5.19. The Holy Spirit guides believers. John 16.13, Acts 10.19-20, 13.2, 16.6, Romans 8.14. He gives spiritual life. John 3.5-8, 6.63, Romans 8.11, 2 Corinthians 3.6. |
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They all believed... - The Lord Jesus-Christ (The α and Ω) is risen indeed ... (Luke 24.34) - Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household (Acts 16.31) - ...It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation (Hebrews 9.27-28) |