Ed, I also believe in Jesus. I also believe whatever Jesus says. I also believe Jesus is a Man....and I believe he is God. I believe Jesus says that the father is the only true God...but if he is of one essence with God....that would conclude that God could be the one true God, yet Christ could also be the one true God. The trinity deals with the contradictions the Bible poses and tries to make sense out of them. How do you deal with Christ forgiving sins?? That was a quality only God has. How do you deal with the part about Christ being the Alpha and the Omega? God also is called the Alpha and the Omega. If Christ is the beginning and the end...and God is the beginning and the end, they must have both been there at the very beginning. And what about this....in the beginning was the word, and the word was God, and the word was with God. The word was with God in the beginning. OK.....so you have those....I guess you probably could explain those away, though I could explain away your arguments as well. Now look at this. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are obviously separate. I mean, when Jesus was baptized, the Father's voice called out from heaven, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him as a dove. Even so, Jesus saves people. For example, the man was lowered down on a mat (the crippled man) and Jesus told him "your sins are forgiven" he forgave his sins and saved him. Only God can save. So since Jesus saved the man, there has to be some correlation.
Ok....anther thing...in Deuteronomy 6:4, and Mark 12:29, I believe it says that there is only One God.
Look at 1 John 1:1-3
1 John, 1:1
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
1 John, 1:2
For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;]
1 John, 1:3
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Ok....this says that which was from the beginning....Christ was from the beginning. We have heard whatever that is....we have seen whatever that is with our eyes, we have looked upon it, our eyes have handled it....it is the Word of Life. It says that it's life was MANIFESTED! Meaning.....the life that was from the beginning, that which we've heard, seen with our eyes, looked upon, handled it....that life became flesh. Now this life that became flesh SHEW ETERNAL LIFE ON US. this life saved us. This life also was with the Father. Jesus was with the Father, yet he was from the beginning, yet he shewed unto us eternal life. Finally our fellowship is with the Father AND the Son. Therefore, since the Son obviously has attributes only God is allowed to have, something must be done to compensate for that. The trinity is the way to deal with that controversy. It shows that God can be ONE, of one essence, yet three distinct persons....Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. This may not sound rational, but we never will know everything fully until we are in heaven. ok.....so now look at John 1:1-4. I mentioned it earlier in this post. It says quite a bit of the same things that 1 John 1:1-3 says. Look at Titus 2:9-13.
Titus, 2:10
Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
Titus, 2:11
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Titus, 2:12
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Titus, 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Titus, 2:14
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Wow.....whether or not you believe in the trinity, I still think these are powerful verses, dealing with salvation. But anywyas, it says the glorious appearing of our great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us. Now look at that.....the glorious appearing of our great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us? hmm...now what does that mean....to me it means that GOD appeared. if God appeared.....how did he appear?? to me, since I believe Jesus is also God, God appeared when Jesus appeared in the flesh.
Look at John 1:14-17.
Also look at the following
Matthew, 28:18
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Matthew, 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost
Jesus was given all power in heaven and in earth? KEY WORDS: ALL POWER
You've probably already seen all these verses so forgive me if they are a repeat.
Ok....so there are many cases where it says that there is only One God. I mean, for crying out loud, one of my favorite verses is Hear of Yisrael, the Adonai, our God, Adonai is one! It also states that Jesus is God's Son. So how does this work, being that there are many places stating Jesus' power that only God should have? The answer seems simple....the trinity.