Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

212 / CORNERSTONE CURRICULUM STUDENT WORKBOOK

1. What is the meaning of the “doctrine of the Trinity ?” To what of the Bible’s teaching does this term refer? 2. Summarize how the Scriptures assert both God is one, while at the same time, affirming the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 3. Give examples of some of the biblical evidence for asserting that each member of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are God, (i.e., show from the Bible how the various members possess the attributes of God, do the work of God, are called God, and exercise authority as God). 4. In what sense can we affirm both God’s oneness, and God’s plurality? 5. What is the meaning and relationship of God’s persons and God’s single essence? How has the Church attempted to understand the Bible’s teachings on the Trinity (list an example). 6. Why is it absolutely necessary never to state the idea of Trinity as meaning three gods? Why has the Church been so careful to distinguish between the single Godhood of God while affirming the three persons of God ? 7. How do the creeds help us to understand how something is not doctrinally true about the Trinity? Can you deny either of these ideas and still have an acceptable view of the Trinity: the unity of God, the differences between the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the equality of the members? This lesson concentrates on both the triune nature of the Trinity as well as the attributes of greatness of God the Father Almighty. The doctrine of the Trinity affirms Scripture’s claims that God is both one and yet exists as three distinct persons, all who are referred to as God, and share the glory of the divine nature. God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, possesses attributes which speak powerfully and definitively as to his greatness. As God the Father is spirit, he possesses life in himself, has authentic personality, is infinite in his divine nature and character, and possesses an essence that never changes. • The doctrine of the Trinity refers to the Bible’s teaching about God’s triune personhood.

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T heology and E th i c s

CONNECTION

Summary of Key Concepts