Matthew 28:16-20
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
1 John 4:8
God is Love
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 5:1-12
The Three That Testify
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Jesus tells His disciples that they should go and make disciples of all nations and they should baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit...The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are known as the Trinity...The word trinity is not mentioned in the Bible...The word Trinity is man-made...Man made up the word Trinity to help explain God...It maybe is a way for us to better understand God...God is so complex and infinite, He is very hard to understand... Therefore, the Trinity, at least for me, helps explain some of the complexities of our LORD...The word Trinity helps us as man, fit God into our idea or concept of Him...This helps, we as humans can understand Him just a little bit better...
In 1 John 5, St. John writes about the Three that give witness...He writes of God...He writes of Jesus...And he writes of the Holy Spirit...
St. John teaches us that God is Love...Love and the Trinity are very much connected...I think that St. Augustine makes the best explanation of the Trinity many years ago...St. Augustine teaches us that God is the highest love that there is...Love has three parts, when you study love and those in a loving relationship...Since God is love, He therefore must have three parts...Since there is God and God is Love, God had to have someone to Love...The someone He loves in the beginning was and is His Son...Jesus is the second part of this Love Trinity...God loves Jesus...The third part of the Trinity is the actual love itself...The actual love, the actual feeling of love, is the Holy Spirit...So when we say that God loves Jesus, the word "loves" is the Holy Spirit...So when we study this, we see that God's very nature is three beings and in three parts...God then One who originally love...The One He loved in the beginning is Jesus (in Genesis "us" the plural is used when God speaks, i.e. "Let US make man in OUR image." -Genesis 1:26)....And His feelings for Jesus is love...This feeling of love, is the Holy Spirit...
When we think about love, we know that it is the most deepest and intimate of our feelings...Love is the most personal of our feelings...To say that love is personal, is an understatement to most of us who believe in love and are in love...The fact that God created us, shows love and since He made us in His own image we have a love connection, because God is LOVE...This make us His children, in His image...He is our Father...We are therefore, very close to God, from being made in His image...For those who believe that God is Love and that love is indeed very personal, then we realize that God wants a personal relationship with us, His children...For each one of us to be created in the image of God put us in the middle of the Trinity...We are part of our Creator...But this should not be surprising, first since He created us, and second since He is Love...Love is personal, and He wants a personal relationship with Him...
We are a part of this Trinity...We are not hermits, but individuals created by God...The whole world is a community of God's creations...This community is the past, present, and future of His children...In each of our daily decisions, we either get closer or further from Him, in how we daily live in this world He has created...Our greatest happiness, and worst sadness comes from the ones we are the closest to and love the most on earth...We are finite and cannot love everyone as God loves each of His children...We are in a limited and finite community in our own little Trinity...Someday God will show us the LOVE it is in His Kingdom of the Eternal Trinity...