Holy Trinity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Holy Trinity - Essay Example Lastly, the Holy Trinity is â€Å"immutable and unalterable forever† (Knight). This implies that nothing can ever destroy the Holy Trinity and that it can never be destroyed or the Three Persons ever be separated. The proofs of the Holy Trinity are found in both the Old and New Testaments but mostly in the latter, although these proofs are rather implied than stated directly. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus states after His Resurrection, â€Å"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit† (Mt. 28:19, New American Standard Bible). This passage clearly implies the distinction between the Three Persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the fact that the conjunction â€Å"and† connects the names of these Three Persons somehow ascribe to them a sense of equality in terms of Godhood. All three therefore are One God. Moreover, the three words that precede the nam es of the Three Persons – â€Å"in the name† – somehow implies and affirms the God nature of not only one but all these Three Persons. Thus, the Father is not the only Person in One God but also the Son and the Holy Spirit. ... On the other hand, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity – the Holy Spirit – is mentioned by Jesus Christ Himself in the Gospel of Luke: â€Å"†¦the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say† (Lk. 12:12). Moreover, Jesus mentions the Holy Spirit again in the Gospel of John: â€Å"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jn. 15:26). These aforementioned passages imply only one thing – that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, and that He is always mentioned to have a divine connection with the Father and the Son. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity, however, met with several oppositions from various individuals as well as other Christian denominations. The first of these oppositions was from the Alexandrian priest named Arius in the year 325. His proposed doctrine, which was known as Arianism , denied the doctrine of the Holy Trinity on the grounds that â€Å"personal distinctions were not eternally present within the nature of God† (Dorman). Moreover, according to Arius, â€Å"Before time began, the Father had created the Son by the power of the Word to be His agent in creation† (Dorman). Thus, for Arius, the idea of the Son being created by the Father means that the Son must not be identified with the Godhead. As a creation of the Father, the Son is therefore, although created before the world, lacks the divine nature of the Father and is therefore NOT equal to Him (Schaff). This heresy, however, was condemned at the ecumenical Council of Constantinople in the year 381 (â€Å"The Doctrine of the Trinity†). The one who faced Arius and the Arians in opposition was Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria during the 4th century