Orchard Community Church

Adult Enrichment Hour

9-10 am Sunday

Goal: Growing the family of God

Seekers 🡪 believers,

believers 🡪 disciples,

disciples 🡪 apostles.

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Eph 4:11-13

WELCOME!

Explore the core beliefs of the faith

Explore

the

Core

What We Believe

Trinity

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1. Describe the Trinity in your own words with relevant Bible verses. 

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2. Discover common errors regarding the Trinity

and recognize groups that claim to be Christian while denying the Trinity.

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3. Recognize the importance of the Trinity in your life today.

While the Old Testament foreshadows the Trinity, it is never clearly stated and the word is never used.

Context: Church History 101

While the Old Testament foreshadows the Trinity, it is never clearly stated and the word is never used. This left questions about who Jesus was.

“Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one” Deuteronomy 6:4

Who was Jesus?

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How could God be one and yet Jesus be God and refer to the “Father”?

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How could God grow in wisdom and stature?

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How could God die?

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A church leader named Arius proposed that Jesus had been created by God.

Others maintained that Jesus was eternal rather than a created being.

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“I and the Father are one”

John 10:30

“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” John 14:9

“Jesus grew in wisdom and stature” Luke 2:52

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Colossians 15:1

The Problem:

Emperor Constantine called a meeting of Christian leaders from across the empire to settle this issue in 325 in Nicea, Turkey. The product of that meeting, the Nicene Creed was then amended in 381 to include greater focus on the Holy Spirit. The question of who Jesus was continues to be the central division between Christians, Jews, and Muslims today.

First Ecumenical Council of Nicea, Vasily Surikov, 1876

Time for you to tackle this question:

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What is the relationship between God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit?

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The Discussion Resource Sheets will help you develop your description of the Trinity. Consider the following parts in developing your description: (This is not a quiz. You’ve got this!)

�1. Is Jesus God?

2. Was Jesus created?
3. Describe the relationship between Jesus and God.
4. Describe the place of the Holy Spirit.

Nicene Creed (381 revision including the Holy Spirit):

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“We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

�And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,  and was made human. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end.

�And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.  He spoke through the prophets. 

�We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Amen.”

1.  Egg

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• Shamrock

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• Water

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• People

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Trinity Analogies

Errors

as found on so-called “Christian” religious websites.

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1. Mormonism: The Church’s first Article of Faith states, “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” Mormons believe They are three distinct personages, not one singular being. They call them the Godhead.

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• Jehovah’s Witnesses: Does the Bible teach that the Father, the Son, and the holy spirit are three persons in one God?  1st, the Bible does not mention the word “Trinity.” 2nd, Jesus never claimed to be equal to God. Instead, Jesus worshipped God. (Luke 22:41-44) Finally, Jesus called his followers “my brothers.” (Matthew 28:10) Were they brothers of Almighty God? Of course not! But through their faith in Christ—God’s preeminent Son—they too became sons of the one Father. (Galatians 3:26)” https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g201308/trinity/

3. Unitarian: “Arius solved the problem of this dual nature by teaching that Jesus was not God, but was created by God, kind of a junior partner with God. Arianism is the name for that heresy, our heresy.”

Modernized excerpts regarding the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit from the Nicene Creed:

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We believe in one God—the Father Almighty—creator of heaven, earth, and everything seen and unseen.

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, who has always been with the Father. He is God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God. He was not created but shares the same nature as the Father. Through Him, all things were made.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who comes from the Father and the Son.

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Or, according to AI:

What We Believe:

There is one God existing in 3 persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. These 3 are not separate gods, but are each fully God yet distinct from each other.

Why is the Trinity important to us?

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It is in the Trinity that God has perfect love and fellowship with himself .

The Father extends that love and fellowship to us through Jesus Christ’s life and sacrifice which sets us right with God, and gives us the Holy Spirit for us to become more Christ-like.