Category: Bible Studies

Her example shines from the shadows. Although she was not an apostle and we don’t even know her name, Peter’s wife is a true hero of faith. We begin our story in Capernaum, a fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The sabbath synagogue service has just concluded. It was an amazing service! In the middle of worship, a demon-possessed man began screaming:

“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him (Mark 1:24 – 26).

Mrs. Peter probably missed seeing and hearing this. Her mother was home ill with a deadly fever. Now imagine what happened next. Peter, along with Jesus, Andrew, James, and John (and perhaps others), leave the assembly and come home with him. Now we know Jesus will take her by the hand and heal her completely, but Peter’s wife didn’t know that when Jesus and the rest arrived. How would you react if your husband brought home company under such circumstances? We are introduced to Mrs. Peter’s greatest virtue, what the Greeks called “makrothumia” – long-suffering.

In the very next chapter, we encounter her virtue again. Nearly the whole village has gathered in and around her house to hear Jesus teach. People are in the doorway and the windows. They have crowded into every corner of her home. Then, in the midst of it all, four young men carry their paralyzed friend onto the top of the house. (Did she hear them up there?) The young men begin digging a hole through the roof! (Can you see the bits of dirt and dust falling into the room and onto Jesus? How does Mrs. Peter react?) They lower their lame friend down in front of Jesus. The Lord not only heals the young man. He also forgives his sin! But, again, put yourself in Peter’s wife’s position. Not only is there a crowd in your home, but someone has dug a hole in her roof! She doesn’t rush to Peter to object. She doesn’t say anything to the young vandals. She was long-suffering!

On top of all that, Mrs. Peter encouraged her husband to leave and follow Jesus for three years. Later, the Apostle Paul asked: “Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas (Peter)?” 1 Corinthians 9:5. Gone was his career as a prosperous fisherman and their life in Galilee. Just as Paul traveled across Asia Minor and Europe spreading the gospel, Peter traveled around the Black Sea starting churches (1 Peter 1:1). What I find fascinating is the presence of the long-suffering Mrs. Peter. According to Paul, Mrs. Peter traveled to distant lands, quietly helping her husband. She was content in the shadows.

Many years later, as we read Peter’s letter, I believe we see Peter describing his wife. He holds her up as an example for all wives:

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

Finally, as we leave the pages of Scripture, we find one last tradition concerning Peter and his wife. They have arrived in Rome, but Emperor Nero has gone mad. Nero sadistically persecuted the Christians. Ultimately, Nero will have Paul beheaded, and Peter crucified. But before Peter died, he saw his wife led out the martyrdom. Eusebius records the words of Clement:

“They say that the blessed Peter when he saw his own wife led out to death rejoiced at her calling and at her return home and called out to her in true warning and comfort, addressing her by her name, ‘Remember the Lord.’ Such was the marriage of the blessed and the perfect disposition of those dearest to them.” (Ecclesiastical History, 3.30.2)

Did you notice the phrase “addressing her by name”? Someday, we’ll learn the name of this long-suffering saint!

Andrew has always had a special place in my heart. He was the little brother to Peter, and although he was partners with James and John in their fishing business, Andrew was not a part of the inner circle with Jesus. Peter, James, and John were invited to go up on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured, and he wasn’t there when Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead. Andrew wasn’t invited to come away from the rest of the apostles and pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. In fact, if we didn’t have John’s gospel, Andrew would just be a name on the list of the apostles. However, in the Gospel of John, Andrew comes alive.

First, John and Andrew were disciples of John the Baptist (John 1). They saw John point to Jesus and call him the “lamb of God.” Together, Andrew and John followed Jesus and listened to him. Then John went and found his brother James, and Andrew found his older brother Peter, and they brought them to meet Jesus.

Later, when Jesus asked the apostles to feed the crowd, it was Andrew who brought the boy who had some bread and fish to Jesus. (That must have been embarrassing to Peter! But that. Is what little brothers are best at – embarrassing their older brothers.)

Finally, a group of Greeks wanted to meet Jesus, but they felt like they needed an introduction, so they approached the Apostle Philip. (Philip is a good Greek name.) Philip wasn’t sure what to do, but Philip asked Andrew’s advice rather than put them off. Together, Philip and Andrew introduced them to Jesus.

Beyond the pages of the New Testament, there are a host of legends about Andrew. Eusebius quoted Origen as saying Andrew preached in Scythia. Others claim Andrew preached along the Black Sea and the Dnieper River as far as Kiev, making him the patron saint of Ukraine, Romania, and Russia. Some claim he visited Spain, and the Scots claim Andrew first brought them the gospel. The flag of Scotland is a white x-shaped cross (called a saltire) on a blue field. (The British flag, the Union Jack imposes the red cross of St. George over the red x-shaped cross of St. Patrick, over the white x-shaped cross of Andrew). According to Hippolytus of Rome, Andrew preached in Thrace. Tradition says Andrew was martyred in Achaia in Greece on an x-shaped cross where he died of exposure.

In his wonderful little book, The Master’s Men, William Barclay sees a common theme in each of these three stories. Andrew introduced people to Jesus. What could be a better epitaph or example for us to follow?

I love stories about people, and one of the most fascinating groups of people is the apostles. We’ve probably heard stories about Peter, and James, and John, but there are also lesser-known men whose stories – as short as they are – are equally inspiring.

For the next two weeks, I’d like to share ten of their stories. Let’s begin with their names. If you compare the four different lists, you might notice something interesting. There are twelve men, but within the twelve, there are three groups of four. Let’s begin with the list in Matthew 10:2 – 4.

The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Mark gives the list as:

He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him (Mark 3:16–19).

The first four are always “Peter, Andrew, James, and John.” The second four are always “Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew,” and the last four are always James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot.” However, within each of those groups of four, the order varies. For example, in Matthew’s account, Andrew is second, but in Mark’s account, Andrew is fourth. Likewise, in Matthew’s second group, Matthew is fourth in the second group but third in Mark’s group.

Note too, Bartholomew appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but Nathaniel does not. However, in John’s gospel, Bartholomew doesn’t appear, but Nathaniel does. The answer is simple. The prefix “bar” means “son of.” Thus “Bar-tholomew” is a last name meaning “son of Ptolemy.” So, we know his full name: Nathaniel Bartholomew. (Since the Ptolemies were the Greek rulers of Egypt – Cleopatra was a Ptolemy – a legend grew up that Nathaniel Bartholomew as royalty.)

Our “question to cogitate” today is “What binds the apostles together into three groups?” The first one is easy. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were business partners (Mark 1:16 ff.). The next group: Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew, is more complicated. We know Philip and Bartholomew were close friends (John 1), but that is all. The last four, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, are intriguing. The Zealots were Jewish revolutionaries, but what about the other three? Did political affiliations bind them?

The epitaph, “Iscariot,” may provide an answer. “Ish” is the Hebrew name for “man.” William Barclay believes “Scariot” refers to the dagger the Zealots carry. (The Zealots were also called the “Scarioti” or “dagger-men.” If that’s true, Judas “Iscariot” could be “Judas the dagerman.”) If Barclay is correct, then perhaps these last four apostles were Zealots – men who wanted to change the world by any means necessary. The fact that Jesus has Zealots and Matthew the tax-collector both in his band of apostles is an important lesson.

However, it is equally possible “Iscariot” means a man (“Ish”) from Kerioth, a village in Judea. If that is true, the rest of the apostles were probably Galilean, and Judas would have been the only outsider. That is an intriguing possibility we’ll explore when we study him further.

We know for sure that these men were faithful witnesses to Jesus the Messiah, and we would do well to follow their examples.

I am a morning person. I like the excitement a new day brings with all her opportunities and challenges. It’s my time for prayer, reading, and meditation. I do my best work before lunch, and to be honest, I believe afternoons were created for naps – at least that’s what Sadie, my dog, and Joey, my cat, are trying to convince me of. But this week, I was reading in Genesis and noticed the Lord met with Adam in the cool of the evenings.

Have you ever wondered what they talked about? It probably wasn’t sports or politics. Perhaps Adam shared his discoveries and asked those questions that haunt our days. It must have been a special time for them, and so I’ve been thinking about the blessings of talking with God before bed. It seems a natural time to share your worries and your complaints. It is the time to pray for our families and friends, but I wonder if we shouldn’t take a lesson from the example of Adam. What if we started planning to meet God in the cool of the evening? It’s a great time to say thank you. (I don’t do that enough!) It would be a good time to share what we learned today.

In ancient Judaism, there were morning sacrifices and evening sacrifices.

“Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old regularly each day. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer in the evening” (Exodus 29:38–39).

This became the “sacrifice of prayer,” and we see the early Christians praying in the Temple in the morning and the afternoon (Acts 4). Later, in the Middle Ages, the monks prayed seven times a day (Matins at nighttime, Lauds in the early morning, Prime at the first hour of daylight, Terce at the third hour, Sext at noon, Nones in the afternoon, Vespers at sunset, and Compline at the end of the day.) Sadly, the prayers became very formal and “by the book.” A Psalter was required for the songs; lectionaries were used for the assigned readings. Bibles were read to “proclaim the reading.” A hymnal was used for the appropriate songs. Finally, these were all incorporated into a breviary, and the “Lord’s Prayer” was repeated three times a day. 

Sigh. Why do we tend to make things complicated and formal? But I do think we need to begin our days and our nights with prayers – chats with God before bed.

One of the elders at the first congregation I worked with was very concerned about church growth. Our church was doing very well. By that I mean, the members were happy and growing spiritually. Our youth group was excited, and numerically – the standard most people use to measure growing churches – we were growing as well.

John thought we could do better. He heard about a congregation in Texas that had surpassed 1,000 in Sunday morning attendance. John had to know their secret, so he traveled to Texas to see for himself. He was especially impressed by their foyer. They had an information booth where visitors could learn about the congregation, pick up a bulletin, and be directed to Bible classes. When John returned, he immediately built a visitor’s booth in our foyer. His reasoning was, “If we do what big churches do, we’ll be big too.”

However, there were some unintended consequences of John’s new visitor’s booth. We already had a group of members who felt their ministry was welcoming visitors to our services. They faithfully arrived early and greeted everyone with bright, smiling faces. Now they had been replaced! However, they were mature enough not to see it that way, and instead of meeting people in the foyer where the information booth was, they moved out onto the church steps and welcomed people before they even left the parking lot! The greeters were happy. The visitors were welcomed, and last I knew, the visitor’s booth was being used to store mops and buckets.

We need to recognize every congregation is unique. Why do we grade churches by their physical size? Jim Belcher wrote in the introduction to Brandon O’Brien’s book, Small Church, Big Impact:

According to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, 94 percent of all existing churches have less than five hundred attendees, and two-thirds of these have less than one hundred. Churches of more than two thousand attendees represent less than one-half of one percent of all churches in America. As I sat at the conference, I wondered why we hold these mega-churches up as the model of ministry for every church. Is it because, I asked myself, they are large and “successful”?[1]

  [1] O’Brien, Brandon J. (2011-07-31T23:58:59). Small Church, Big Impact (Ebook Shorts). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Jesus had an appointment. The Transfiguration of Christ didn’t just happen as Jesus was walking along with his disciples. He had an appointment on top of that holy mountain to meet with Moses and Elijah, but why?

The week before, at Caesarea Philippi, Peter made the great confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Matthew 16:21). That made absolutely no sense to them, and Peter rebuked Jesus for saying so (Matthew 16:22)! They needed proof that God was in control. They needed to know that what was about to happen was all part of God’s eternal plan. Let’s read the story of the Transfiguration again:

And after six days, Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John, his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only (Matthew 17:1 – 8 ESV).

Have you ever wondered why, out of all the Old Testament characters, Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus? Why not Adam, the first man? After all, it was because of Adam’s sin that Jesus had to go to the cross. Or why not Abraham? He was the father of the nation of Israel. Or Noah, or Malachi, or even King David? Why these two, and how did Peter, James and John know it was Moses and Elijah?[1]

Remember, Moses was the great lawgiver, and Elijah stood for all the prophets. Thus, the entire Old Testament reflects God’s eternal plan to save us. Peter, James, and John needed to know in the midst of the trial they were about to undergo; God is in control! Isn’t that a great thought for today as well?

  [1] This answers the question I am often asked, “Will we recognize each other in heaven?” Unless Moses and Elijah were wearing name tags, Peter and the others simply knew who it was. So will we when we see the saints.

In 1873, the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed a criminal conviction against William Linkhaw, a Methodist, who “sang so poorly in church that a grand jury indicted him for disrupting the church’s services.”^[1]A 1906 poem published in the legal magazine, The

Green Bag, included these lines:

And that, although the proof did show
That Linkhaw’s voice was awful
The judges found no valid ground
For holding it unlawful.

Linkhaw’s singing was so bad, members of the congregation asked him to cease singing. Linkhaw, on the other hand, was so deeply religious, he felt, in good conscience, he couldn’t stop. Once, the Methodist pastor refused to lead a song at all lest Linkhaw join in! During the trial, a witness threw the court into convulsions of laughter when he imitated Linkhaw’s singing.

“All parties agreed that Linkhaw did not mean to disturb the service, but trial judge Daniel L. Russell ruled that he could nonetheless be held responsible because he ought to have known that his acts would result in a disruption of the congregation. The jury found Linkhaw guilty, and Russell fined him one penny. Linkhaw appealed to the North Carolina Supreme Court, which unanimously vacated the conviction. In an opinion by Justice Thomas Settle, the court ruled that Linkhaw could not be found guilty when he was genuinely trying to worship. Settle suggested that the matter was more appropriate for church discipline than for the courts of law.”

Judge Daniel L. Russell went on to be elected governor of North Carolina, but history doesn’t tell us if William Linkhaw ever learned to sing. All of these troubles could have been avoided if only the congregation remember the Scriptures only encourage us to “make a joyful noise to the Lord” (Psalm 95:1)

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^[1] Downloaded from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_v._Linkhaw

There is another possibility in solving the Laodicean mystery we began talking about earlier this week. Among the ancient manuscripts, there is a tiny letter by that name, Laodiceans, that claims to be Paul’s missing letter. It’s available in most bookstores and on the internet. It’s only twenty verses long, so let’s read it.

Paul Epistle to the Laodiceans
¹ Paul, an apostle not of men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ, unto the brethren that are at Laodicea. ² Grace be unto you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ³ I give thanks unto Christ in all my prayers, that ye continue in him and persevere in his works, looking for the promise at the day of judgement. ⁴Neither do the vain talkings of some overset you, which creep in, that they may turn you away from the truth of the Gospel which is preached by me. ⁵ And now shall God cause that they that are of me shall continue ministering unto the increase of the truth of the Gospel and accomplishing goodness, and the work of salvation, even eternal life. ⁶ And now are my bonds seen of all men, which I suffer in Christ, wherein I rejoice and am glad. ⁷ And unto me this is for everlasting salvation, which also is brought about by your prayers, and the ministry of the Holy Ghost, whether by life or by death. ⁸ For verily to me life is in Christ, and to die is joy. ⁹And unto him (or And also) shall he work his mercy in you that ye may have the same love, and be of one mind. ¹⁰ Therefore, dearly beloved, as ye have heard in my presence so hold fast and work in the fear of God, and it shall be unto you for life eternal. ¹¹ For it is God that worketh in you. ¹² And do ye without afterthought whatsoever ye do. ¹³ And for the rest, dearly beloved, rejoice in Christ, and beware of them that are filthy in lucre. ¹⁴ Let all your petitions be made openly before God, and be ye steadfast in the mind of Christ. 15 And what things are sound and true and sober and just and to be loved, do ye. ¹⁶ And what ye have heard and received, keep fast in your heart. ¹⁷ And peace shall be unto you. ¹⁸ The saints salute you. ¹⁹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with your spirit. ²⁰ And cause this epistle to be read unto them of Colossae, and the epistle of the Colossians to be read unto you.[1]

The first thing you’ll notice is how much it sounds like Paul’s other writings. In fact, these twenty verses are primarily verses taken from Paul’s letters, and cobbled together with the final exhortation, “cause this epistle to be read unto them of Colossae, and the epistle of the Colossians to be read unto you” (compare Colossians 4:16).

Every few years someone claims to have found a “Missing Book of the Bible.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) built a whole denomination on the premise they found some missing books of the Bible! So, how do we go about examining claims like that? What questions should you ask?

I would like to know a little bit about the provenance of the book. Who found it? Where was it? And how did it come to see the light of day? Laodiceans is found in over 100 early copies of the Latin Vulgate translation! On the other hand, although Lightfoot detects Greek wording behind the Latin, there is not a single Greek manuscript of the text, nor does it appear in Syriac or other ancient versions. Of the Latin manuscripts, the oldest is “a Fulda manuscript written for Victor of Capua in 546.”[2] The Latin manuscripts range in date from the 6^th through the 12^th century. Since our earliest English manuscripts were translated from the Latin Vulgate, Laodiceans was included in the first English Bibles (Wycliffe’s translation) and in the translations of Purvey.

“Paul’s Epistles to the Laodiceans” is a pious fraud. Someone couldn’t stand the idea that we were missing one of Paul’s letters, so he fabricated one from parts of his known epistles. J.B. Lightfoot’s conclusion (1886) is still apt today:

The apocryphal Epistle to the Laodiceans is a cento of Pauline phrases strung together without any definite connexion or any clear object. They are taken chiefly from the Epistle to the Philippians, but here and there one is borrowed elsewhere, e.g. from the Epistle to the Galatians. Of course it closes with an injunction to the Laodiceans to exchange epistles with the Colossians. The Apostle’s injunction in Col. 4:16 suggested the forgery, and such currency as it ever attained was due to the support which that passage was supposed to give to it. Unlike most forgeries, it had no ulterior aim. It was not framed to advance any particular opinions, whether heterodox or orthodox. It has no doctrinal peculiarities. Thus it is quite harmless, so far as falsity and stupidity combined can ever be regarded as harmless.[3]

[1] From The Apocryphal New Testament Translation and Notes by M.R. James. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.

[2] Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_to_the_Laodiceans

[3] Lightfoot, J. B. (1886). Saint Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon (8th ed., pp. 279–280). London; New York: Macmillan and Co.

The two young men dressed in dark suits, white shirts, and skinny black ties sat in my living room. Their white plastic name tags identified them as Mormon elders. They confidently asserted there were “missing books” in the Bible, and we turned to Colossians 4:16.

“After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you, in turn, read the letter from Laodicea” (Colossians 4:16).

There are 27 books in the New Testament, and none of them are called “Laodiceans.” (Go ahead. Check the table of contents. It’s not there.) The Mormon missionaries smugly folded their arms in victory. My Bible was not complete. There were missing letters! They had proven their point, so I asked them to open their Book of Mormon to the missing letter, or perhaps it was in one of their other books, Pearl of Great Price, or Doctrine and Covenants? Nope. So what is the story concerning the letter to the Laodiceans?

Bishop Lightfoot, in his commentary on Colossians, laid out the options for us.

1. Could it be a letter from the Laodiceans to Paul or someone else?
2. Perhaps it was a letter Paul wrote from Laodicea?
3. Or it might be a letter addressed to the Laodiceans from the Apostle John (Lightfoot suggests 1 John) or a companion of Paul (Epaphras or Luke).
4. But what if it is a letter from the Apostle Paul himself?

It’s possible, Laodiceans might be one of the canonical epistles but known by another name. For example, Goodspeed from the University of Chicago thinks it was the letter to Philemon, but how would that personal letter commend itself to the Laodiceans in particular? Did they know Onesimus, the runaway slave? Some other scholars believe Paul was talking about Hebrews, but that’s just supposition. On the other hand, if you examine Ephesians 1:1, most modern English translations include a little footnote. The NIV reads, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.” There is a footnote after the words “in Ephesus” that explains: “Some early manuscripts do not have in Ephesus.” In other words, those ancient, hand-written copies simply read “To the saints who are _____, the faithful in Christ Jesus.” The manuscripts contain an incomplete sentence: “to the saints who are ____.” Are what? Very strange! 

As we examine the letter for clues, remember, Paul spent more time in Ephesus than just about anywhere else on his missionary journeys, yet he doesn’t include any personal greetings to any members there. Although Paul hadn’t visited Rome, the last chapter of his letter to the Romans is packed with greetings to Christians living there, so why no greetings to the Ephesians?

As we examine all of the ancient manuscripts of Ephesians, we are surprised to discover some of them fill in the blank in verse one. They read, “to the saints in Laodicea”! Many scholars (myself included) feel Ephesians was an ancient form letter. As Tychicus and Onesimus traveled back to Colossae, I believe they made copies of “Ephesians” for the various churches filling in the blank with that congregation’s name. Laodiceans isn’t lost; it’s just misfiled.

Now, if Ephesians was addressed to all of the congregations, perhaps we should fill our congregation’s name in the blank and re-read this vital letter afresh! Try it.

One of the most challenging concepts in Christianity is the doctrine of the Trinity: God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Perhaps you’ve struggled to explain how we can believe in one God who has three persons. Through the centuries, people have come up with some ingenious explanations for this doctrine.

One group, the modalists, believes God changed form through the ages. First, he was the Father, a warlike God who commanded whole nations destroyed by the Israelites. Then he became the Son during the Incarnation of Jesus. Finally, the third “mode” is the Holy Spirit. The modalistic view is heretical and makes the baptism of Christ into something strange. If there is only one mode, how could the Son be baptized while the Father speaks, and the Holy Spirit descends like a dove? Why are we commanded to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)?

Another explanation of the Trinity denies the eternity of Christ, the Word of God. They teach only the Father is without beginning or end. The Son, Jesus Christ, has a beginning, and they deny the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is just the power of God working like some divine electricity.

So how do we explain the doctrine of the Trinity? We believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, yet we believe in one God. How does this make any sense at all? It doesn’t. There are some doctrines in the Bible that we call “mysteries.” They aren’t mysterious as we usually think about mysterious. They are simply given – like a mathematical axiom.[1] And, if we think about it very long, it should make sense that the things of God don’t make any earthly sense.

For example, can you imagine a world without time? Take off your watch. There is no past, present, or future in God’s world! That makes no sense on earth. Likewise, God is everywhere. He is not bound by space. We are. I’m here; I’m not over there. We are earthbound, but that doesn’t apply to the Lord. Now, do you see what I mean when I say it makes sense that some things of God make no sense?

There are two central Biblical mysteries: the Trinity and the Incarnation. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches we believe in one God, who is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Incarnation teaches Jesus is 100% divine and 100% human. We can’t explain it, but we believe it.

Note: we believe in the mysteries of the Bible, but we do not believe despite the evidence (that’s just fairy tale faith). We believe because of the evidence. That still leaves us speechless and in awe of our amazing God!

  [1] If it’s been a while since you studied Euclidian Geometry, visit https://mathigon.org/world/Axioms_and_Proof on a excellent explanation of axioms.