What does it mean that God is a person?

Michael Collum said:

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I'm glad you posted that diagram... I was just about to.

The Trinitarian theology expressed in this diagram is a core Christian belief (not to mention being compulsory in this forum).

Radagast said:

I'm glad you posted that diagram... I was just about to.

The Trinitarian theology expressed in this diagram is a core Christian belief (not to mention being compulsory in this forum).

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Having been here for a number of years, I remember how chaotic it used to be, so some order is welcome.

Michael Collum said:

Having been here for a number of years, I remember how chaotic it used to be, so some order is welcome.

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I remember you from the old days, actually.

And if anything, it's more chaotic now. Active membership has dropped, and the percentage of unorthodox/non-Trinitarian members has increased.

Radagast said:

I remember you from the old days, actually.

And if anything, it's more chaotic now. Active membership has dropped, and the percentage of unorthodox/non-Trinitarian members has increased.

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I remember you as well.
.
I recall what you mean from when I logged back on recently, the intercessory burden spoke volumes, but the number of people anathemizing each other over differing doctrines has decreased. Those are painful to pray through

Radagast said:

I remember you from the old days, actually.

And if anything, it's more chaotic now. Active membership has dropped, and the percentage of unorthodox/non-Trinitarian members has increased.

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A thought keeps coming to me, The Majority of new posts I notice are prayer requests, might be the place for ministry.

I think what defines the personhood of God most of all is love. To love, one must first have intent, will, and consciousness too, but it is compassion and empathy and the ability to enter into relationships that defines the persons of the Triune God.

I don't personally think that Christian churches or even the Bible have been all that clear in helping us to distinguish the different personalities of the Triune God, one from the other. But maybe that is an impossible thing to do, since the three persons of Trinity are so thoroughly integrated. You sometimes notice that kind of thing in very old couples, who dress the same, even look the same, and even give the same answers to the questions asked of the other. It is like a dance, or even a wrestling match, where the movements of the two (in this case three) persons are so perfectly synched and knowledgeable about the others will that everyone acts together as a unified whole.
But nevertheless, there are three independent consciousnesses, three independent wills, united in purpose, and united in love, perfectly harmonious in action and thought and deed.

We are very much still creatures of the earth, creatures formed from clay. It is almost impossible for us to conceive of our personhood as being disembodied, and therefore the personhood of Jesus is most tangible for us, and the one where it is most easiest for us to make a connection to.
And that of course is by design. That is the why of the Incarnation, to reveal what has been previously concealed, for us to get to know God as Son of Man, as one of us.
But God is complete in and of himself, and love is always in a relationship. As God told Adam before drawing Eve from his core, it is not good to be alone. That is as true for God as it is for us. God is never alone. God is three persons bonded in the sacred ties of love.

TRI-UNE GOD TRUTHS/DOCTRINE REVEALED!

God the Son, Jesus the God-Man is not the SAME as/IDENTICAL to God the Father,
nor is God the Son, Jesus the God-Man the SAME as/ IDENTICAL to God the Holy Spirit.
The spiritual Persons of the "Godhead" are discerned has having different
RANKS, ROLES, MISSIONS, FUNCTIONS, NAMES, etc.
No one Person of the "Godhead" is identical to / the same as / "equal" to the other
>>>EXCEPT<<< in THEIR unity of "spiritual essence" AND divine nature. (1 Cor.12:13)

The TRI-UNE GOD is ONE GOD unified in spiritual essence and nature and character.
1. "The Father and I (Jesus) are ONE...in spiritual essence ONLY...
2. But discerned as different spiritual Persons of the TRI-UNE GOD in RANK, ROLE, FUNCTIONS, NAMES, etc

In many ROLES / FUNCTIONS, God the Father RANKS ABOVE both God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

For example:

Genesis 1:26-28 (NASB)...ALLOWS for a PLURAL GOD
26 Then God (Elohim - plural - pre-existent one) said,
“Let Us make man in Our (spiritual) image, according to Our (character) likeness;

Mattthew 3: 16-17: The Beginning of Jesus' Ministry
As soon as Jesus (God the Son) was baptized, he went up out of the water.
At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God (God the Holy Spirit)
descending like (in the form of) a dove and lighting on him.
And a voice (God the Father) from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Mark 9:7
Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud,
“This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”

John 14:26 (NIV)...a new promise by Jesus...a snapshot of the TRI-UNE God
"When the Counselor (God the Holy Spirit) comes,
whom I (God the Son/Jesus) will send to you from the Father (God the Father),
the Spirit of TRUTH (God the Holy Spirit) who goes out from the Father (God the Father),
he (the Spirit of TRUTH) will testify (to the spirit of Man) about me. (God the Son/Jesus)

John 14:26(NASB)
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things, and
bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

Matthew 28: 18 - The End of the Ministry - Post Resurrection and Pre-Ascension... The Great Commisssion
Then Jesus came to them (disciples) and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore a. go and b. make disciples of (convert) all nations, c. baptizing them (believers) in the name
of (God) the Father and
of (God) the Son and
of (God) the Holy Spirit,
and d. teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Colossians 2 :8-9;
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

Colossians 1 :15-19
For God was pleased to have all his fullness (of the Deity) dwell in Him,
and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross

Phillipians 2...The Kenosis...Diety poured out into perfect flesh without loss or change in Deity

Romans 15:30 (NIV)...in prayer
I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ (God the Son/Jesus)
and by the love of the Spirit (God the Holy Spirit), to join me in my struggle
by praying to God (God the Father) for me.

2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV)...in goodbyes
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ (God the Son/Jesus) ,
and the love of God (God the Father),
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (God the Holy Spirit) be with you all.

DK63 said:

I believe in the Trinity, but only really understand Jesus as a person. But people tell me that God and the Holy Spirit are persons. Those hardly seem like persons to me.

If you see God as a person, how does that look like to you? I don't really understand this, and maybe some answers can help.

I'm perfectly fine living as God and the Holy Spirit each are more like a force. And I'm trying to understand how people understand God as a person.

Thanks.

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Great Question! It means you can relate to God. First, ask God to show you His Face. Then grab a Bible and read these passages from the Scriptures (Genesis 1:27, Exodus 3:18-23, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3, John 14:7-9, Revelation 4:2-4).

God is more then just a mist or pillar of smoke. You can think of Him as being in the shape of human, just like you can with any human ghost. But better yet, think of it the other way around....humans are actually in the shape of God.

While all humans are made in the shape/likeness/form/fashion/impression of God, Jesus (the Christ) is the only EXACT image of God. He is THE Son of God.

The first thing to say is that God is much ‘bigger’ than us in every sense. So we can never completely describe him or understand him. It would be like a slug trying to understand Einstein’s theories to expect us to understand God in my opinion