Christian Churches of all denominations believe there is one God in three equal and eternal Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This doctrine of the Trinity is often attacked by the cults. If you have had a Jehovah’s Witness at your door perhaps you were told that the doctrine is “of the devil” because “nowhere is the word “Trinity” found in the Bible.” How do we respond? The truth is that the word “Trinity” is not in the Bible, but the concept of the Trinity is seen from Genesis to Revelation. The following is an examination of some of the verses in the Bible that teach the Trinity.

Genesis 1:1-3. The very first paragraph of the Bible shows forth the three-fold work of the Holy Trinity. “God created” refers to the creative work of God the Father. “The Spirit of God” refers to the Holy Spirit. And “God said…” refers to Jesus as the Word of God through whom the Father made the Universe (we learn this later in John 1:1-14).

Matthew 28:19. Jesus’ last words on earth instruct the disciples to baptize “in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit”. We might expect “names” (plural) but Jesus says “name” (singular) implying the doctrine of one God in three Persons.

Matthew 3:13-17. This story of the baptism of Jesus also shows forth the three Persons of the Trinity: the Father’s voice, the Son Jesus in the water, and the Spirit descending as a dove.

Problem passages:

John 14:28: Jesus said “I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

The question arises: If Jesus and the Father are equally God, why does Jesus say this? We respond that Jesus said these words in His incarnate state as a human being. Philippians 2:6-7 teaches that though Jesus was God, He did not grasp His equality with God but emptied Himself and became a human being. This does not mean that Jesus ceased to be God (He is fully God and fully man). It means that He did not always use His full power as God when in His earthly state.

I Corinthians 15:28 teaches that at the end of time at the 2nd Coming of Christ, after all God’s enemies are put under Christ’s feet, “then the Son Himself will also be subjected” to God the Father. If Jesus is equally God with the Father, why does He subject Himself to the Father? We respond by saying that “subject” does not mean “inferior”. A wife is to subject herself to her husband, but his does not mean that she is any less human than her husband. So it is with the Trinity (this is called “the economy of the Trinity”). Even though Jesus is equally eternal and equally God with the Father, Jesus as the Son always subjects Himself to the Father.

Colossians 1:15 (see also Revelation 3:14) teaches that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation”. Does this word “firstborn” teach that Jesus is the first being that God the Father created? The immediate context makes such an interpretation impossible. The following verse 16 teaches that Jesus is the one through whom all things came about. Colossians 1:19 and Colossians 2:9 declare Jesus to be God and the Bible is clear that God is eternal and uncreated (Psalm 90:2). The term “firstborn” refers to Jesus priority over all creation. As the firstborn son during Biblical days inherited everything from his father, so Jesus inherits all things from His Father.

The deity of Christ passages.

What are the clearest passages in the Bible that teach that Jesus is God? Perhaps the three clearest are John chapter one, Colossians chapter one and Hebrews chapter one.

John 1:1-5, 14 declares that Jesus is the pre-existent Word, Jesus is God, Jesus is the agent of creation, and Jesus becomes human flesh.

Colossians 1:15-20 teaches Jesus is the image of the invisible God, He is the agent of creation, He is before all things and sustains all things, and “all the fullness of God dwelt in Him” (see also Colossians 2:9).

Hebrews 1:1-5, 8 teaches that Jesus is the one through whom the world was created, Jesus bears the very stamp of God’s nature, and the Father refers to the Son as “God” in verse 8.

There are numerous other references to Jesus being God. Philippians 2:6-7 refers to Jesus as God and in John 20:28 Thomas calls Jesus “My Lord and my God.” Jesus does not reject this high praise from Thomas but basically tells Thomas he should have believed without seeing it.

The Holy Spirit passages.

Some cults, among them Jehovah’s Witnesses, teach that the Holy Spirit is not God but merely a force. But the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is also God in Acts 5:3-4, 2 Corinthians 3:17, John 4:24 and I Corinthians 2:10, 11.

For an examination of the cults (Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Christian Science, Unity Church, etc) and their errors about the Trinity see Walter Martin’s excellent “The Kingdom of the Cults” put out by Bethany House Publishing.

We close with the Trinitarian blessing of the Apostle Paul from 2 Corinthians 13:14…

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all

Tom Brock was born in Omaha, Nebraska and graduated from Bethel College in St. Paul Minnesota with a degree in Biblical and Theological Studies. He received a Masters of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1979 and has served congregations in Florida and Minnesota. He served on the board of reform groups attempting to bring Biblical renewal to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America before he left that denomination over their position on issues such as abortion, homosexuality and universalism. Pastor Brock for 24 years has had a television ministry which can currently be seen on DirecTV on channel 367 (World Harvest Television) Sundays at 8:30 Central Time. He also does guest preaching at churches. Pastor Brock is 59 years old and has been single his whole life.

A PASTOR’S STRUGGLE WITH SAME-SEX ATTRACTION

I have struggled with homosexual temptation most of my life. By the grace of God I have always been celibate but the struggle for me has been intense. Sadly, the battle was also with my own denomination. In my 22 years as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America I spoke at church conventions for the Biblical standard of celibacy for those with same sex attraction. Sadly in 2009 the ELCA adopted a more liberal view and began ordaining practicing homosexuals. I have left the ELCA but I continue in my television ministry to uphold the truth that homosexual behavior is sin, and the fact that I struggle with this temptation does not give me license to practice the behavior.

This summer I testified before a hearing at the convention of the Presbyterian Church USA as they debated whether to change the definition of marriage to include homosexual couples. I explained that I am a person who struggles with same sex attraction but the last thing I want to see is the Church endorse a behavior that hurts people in this life and which excludes them from the Kingdom in the next (I Corinthian 6:9-11). I stated “Is it not arrogant to think that we are somehow more enlightened than all the Christians who came before us?” I believe it is safest to interpret Scripture the way Christians have understood it for 2000 years and the solid testimony of church history is against homosexual behavior. The Biblical interpretation that has led some denominations astray--notably the ELCA, Presbyterian Church USA, the Episcopal Church in America, and the United Church of Christ--maintains that the Bible does not condemn homosexual behavior per se, but only promiscuous homosexual behavior. As much as part of me—my flesh—would like to believe I can legitimately engage in homosexual behavior, the Bible remains a permanent obstacle. An objective reading of Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Deuteronomy 22:5, Romans 1:26-27, I Corinthians 6:9-11, I Timothy 1:8-10, Jude 6,7 makes clear that the Bible’s condemnation of homosexual behavior is a blanket one. There is never the added caveat: But it is okay if you love each other.

At the Presbyterian convention, one pastor testified that the denomination should allow her to marry lesbians in her congregation because “If I don’t I will hurt them.” I responded “No, to encourage them to engage in a behavior which will rob them of salvation, that is what will hurt them.”

I was interviewed on Minneapolis radio about my struggle and the interviewer asked “Pastor Brock, why don’t you just go with this orientation as who you are.” I responded “I’m glad I didn’t. I’d be dead. Many men my age who went into this lifestyle are dead.” Some liberal Lutheran bishops I know believe they are being loving by affirming homosexual behavior. The truth is they are hurting people. As one old Lutheran pastor said “They are nicing people right into hell.” I can’t tell you how grievous it was for me with my struggle to hear bishops endorse something that I knew was evil.

So what does one do if one suffers from same sex attraction? I believe the answer is: fight. Nowhere are we told the Christian life will be easy. I once heard someone say “But God would never ask you to deny something so central to your make-up as homosexuality”. I thought “Why not?” If we believe in the doctrine of original sin---that we are all born sinners because of Adam’s fall (Romans 5)—then indeed every Christian is called to battle the sin that is so central to our make-up. One often hears “But I didn’t choose this.” I can relate. I never consciously asked to have these temptations. But most alcoholics do not wake up one morning and say “I think I’ll have a drinking problem.” Kleptomaniacs do not say “I think I’ll have a problem with shoplifting.” We may not choose our temptations in life, but we do choose what we do with our temptations. To be tempted is not sin. Jesus was tempted in Matthew 4. What we do with temptation shows whether we are endeavoring to follow Christ. And, praise God, even if we do fall under temptation, there is forgiveness when we repent and turn to Christ.

What will help people who struggle with same sex attraction? Of course, regular prayer, Bible reading and being in a good church, a church that has not compromised on this issue. But for most people struggling with same sex attraction, the crucial key is accountability. I have been part of a Christian support group for those who struggle with same sex attraction. If you go to "Restored Hope Network" at restoredhopenetwork.org  where you will most likely find a group in your area where you can join other Christians who have this struggle. Also very important for me are the weekly phone calls I make to my accountability partner who helps keep me on the straight and narrow.

Lastly, where does homosexuality come from? Is it nature (in the genes) or nurture (in one’s upbringing)? I lean toward the latter but ultimately it does not matter. Wherever it comes from, we are called upon to follow Christ and say “no” to it. As our Lord Himself stated “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

There are ten passages in the Bible that directly or indirectly refer to homosexuality. Homosexual behavior is viewed negatively every time it is mentioned, yet some in the Church today are saying that “loving committed” homosexual relationships are approved by God. A question I have repeatedly heard is “How do liberal pastors, seminary professors and bishops get around the clear teaching of Scripture on homosexuality?” I will answer that as we look at the Biblical passages on homosexuality.

Genesis 2:18, 22. In this passage, God creates a woman to complement the man. God makes a woman, not another man, to fulfill Adam’s need for companionship.

Genesis 19:1-9. The Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sexual sin, which involved homosexual rape. Liberals in the Church teach that this passage does not condemn homosexuality per se but homosexual rape. They would teach the real sin of Sodom was “inhospitality.” Actually, both are true. Homosexual rape is inhospitable. That this passage also condemns homosexual behavior in itself and not just rape is shown by the fact that Lot offers his daughters rather than see his guests raped. The Bible never says that God approved of Lot’s offer, but it shows how taboo homosexual behavior was to this follower of Jehovah.

Leviticus 18:22 condemns sex between two men. Liberals point out that Leviticus also condemns the eating of pork and the wearing of a garment woven with two kinds of material. We no longer follow these rules, they contend, therefore we can ignore this passage about homosexuality. Not so. Jesus by His death fulfilled the sacrificial and ceremonial laws of the Old Testament. We are free to eat pork and not follow those Old Testament laws which were given specifically to the Jews to distinguish them from the nations (Mark 7:18). The moral law of the Old Testament, however, still stands. Leviticus chapter 18 also condemns incest (verse 9), adultery (verse 20), child sacrifice (verse 21) and bestiality (verse 23), yet no one is—or should—maintain that these laws are no longer applicable because they appear in the Book of Leviticus.

Leviticus 20:13 teaches that homosexual acts are “detestable” and should be punished by death. Liberals say “If you are going to be consistent, do you really want to kill homosexuals today?” Our response: Israel was a theocracy, not a democracy. We are never instructed in the Bible to impose Old Testament theocratic punishments on other forms of government. But the Apostle Paul does state in Romans 13 that all governments, even pagan governments, make laws to curb human sin. Whatever the form of government, the Bible’s point still stands: homosexual behavior is grievous to God.

Deuteronomy 23:17-18 warns against prostitution, including homosexual prostitution. They are “abominations to the Lord”.

Deuteronomy 22:5 teaches against transvestitism (men wearing women’s clothing and vice verse) is an abomination to the Lord. Sadly, some in the Church today teach that if a male feels himself to be a female, it is permissible for that person to wear women’s clothing and even undergo sex change surgery.

Romans 1:26-27. This is the clearest teaching in the Bible against homosexual behavior of any kind. Homosexual behavior is the consequence of mankind’s idolatry. Homosexual desires are called “degrading passions” and are said to be “against nature.” Liberals argue that this passage does not condemn “loving, committed” homosexual behavior, but only condemns child abuse, homosexual prostitution and promiscuity. But this is impossible to maintain since the passage is a blanket condemnation with no qualifiers. There is no hint here that that which is against nature becomes natural if the two people are in a committed relationship.

I Corinthians 6:9-11. This passage teaches that people who continue in impenitent sin—including but not limited to homosexuality—will not inherit God’s Kingdom. Two words for homosexuality are used here, one meaning “soft, effeminate, the passive partner in homosexual relations” and the other being “male bed”, meaning, a male who has sex with a male. The passage teaches that some at Corinth had been involved in this behavior but had been washed through the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit. When liberals in the Church teach that one can inherit the Kingdom of God while continuing in this behavior they are being very cruel. Whether they realize it or not, according to this passage, they are encouraging people to go to hell.

I Timothy 1:8-10 contains a list of gross sins, including murder, fornication, kidnapping, lying, and more. Included in that list is homosexual behavior. All these behaviors are referred to as “contrary to sound teaching.”

Jude 6-7 (see also 2 Peter 2:6-10) teaches that the sin of Sodom was “gross immorality and they went after strange flesh.” Sodom is an example of God’s punishment of “eternal fire.” Liberals try to maintain that Sodom’s sin here is, again, inhospitality. But the words “gross immorality” and “going after strange flesh” are clearly a reference to the sexual sins of Sodom.

Thus the Bible teaches that sexual intercourse is for a man and woman within the commitment of marriage. Any other form of sexual intercourse, be it heterosexual fornication or homosexual behavior, is forbidden by the Bible. The Good News is that through Christ’s saving death, there is forgiveness of sins for all who repent and put their faith in Christ (I Corinthians 6:9-11). The Christian Gospel holds out forgiveness and new life to those who have been involved in any kind of sinful, sexual behavior. For those with same sex attraction, God may indeed grant them healing and reorienting toward heterosexual marriage. Some Christians, however, may struggle with same sex attraction throughout their lives. Regardless of one’s situation, all single Christians are called to live chaste lives for the glory of God and for their own well being.

Let us pray that the Lord of the Church will enable His Church to maintain the truth of the Bible in our confused age.

I spent many years as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America until I led my congregation out for a more Biblical branch of Lutheranism.   “Liberal” is no longer the word for the ELCA, it has become radical.  Here is what I mean:

The ELCA pays for abortion for any reason in the denomination’s healthcare plan which is funded by offering dollars.  That’s right, “your offering dollars at work” can go to kill unborn children.

The ELCA ordains practicing homosexuals and now also transgender pastors.

Two summers ago, 31,000 ELCA teenagers attended the ELCA’s youth gathering.   Popular ELCA pastor Nadia Bolz-Webber led the students to say after her “I renounce the lie that queerness is anything other than beauty”.  At the youth gathering an 11-year-old boy who thinks he is a girl was put on stage to promote transgenderism.

This past summer the ELCA in convention passed an interfaith resolution stating that we do not know what God thinks of non-Christian religions.   A delegate got to the microphone to offer an amendment, saying that we do know because John 14:6 says that Jesus is the only way of salvation.  His amendment was voted down by 97 percent.

A Chicago newspaper asked ELCA head bishop Elizabeth Eaton if Hell exists.   Her response:   “It may, but I think it is empty.”

Recently the Christian Post reported on the ELCA promoting a prayer to “Mother God.”   If you go to herchurch.org,, you will find an ELCA congregation in California which worships “Our Mother who is within us…”   The church’s pastor led the women on a retreat in which she gave each a lump of clay to fashion their own Asheroth goddess statue so they could worship the “forbidden divine feminine.”  My alma mater, the ELCA’s Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, held a commemoration service for the Transgender Day of Remembrance in which the transgender preacher led the students in the Lord’s Prayer, saying “Our Mother in heaven."

I am on a Facebook page that includes pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, some of whom believe it is sexist to pray exclusively to God as Father.  I responded that Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father” and we are in no position to correct Him.  A music minister at an ELCA church in Virginia didn't like my comment and responded: "The Lord’s Prayer is a pattern for prayer. Do you still say it in Arabic? Hebrew? Then shut up. I’ll call God Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, anything I want. Doesn’t change my salvation.”

Notice what is going on in this comment. Lutherans believe we are saved by grace alone and not by our good works--which is gloriously true (Ephesians 2:8-9). But some Lutherans practice "grace abuse" and say "Because I'm saved by grace, I can live like the devil and do whatever I want". Or, as the Apostle Paul put it: "Shall we continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be!" (Romans 6:1). Yes, we are saved by grace alone, but grace never is alone, it always changes our lives. Good works do not save us, but they are the evidence that we have been saved by Christ.

So, no, we are not free to worship God as "Mother, Sister, Brother, anything I want". The grace of Christ moves us to want to obey God, not to treat Him with contempt and remold Him into "anything I want.”

Sadly, the ELCA has become the denomination of “anything I want.”   Martin Luther believed that “the Bible alone” is the highest authority for the Church and he would grieve if he could see what the ELCA has become.   In fact, some of us think ELCA really stands for “Everything Luther Cautioned Against.”

Periodically we get the question “Why do Christians worship on Sunday when the Old Testament instructs us to worship on Saturday?”  7th Day Adventists insist that we should worship on Saturday and some even say that if we worship on Sunday we've received "the mark of the beast".

The Sabbath is the one of the 10 Commandments that is not reiterated in the New Testament for Christians to keep. Many New Testament Christians were slaves and could not have kept a sabbath had they wanted to.   And Paul is concerned that some of this converts are being judged by others because they are not going back to Jewish festivals and sabbaths (Colossians 2:16-23).   The Sabbath is kind of like circumcision and Old Testament Jewish food laws, they been fulfilled in Christ and Christians are no longer obligated to keep them (Mark 7:19). That does not mean that there is not sound wisdom in taking one day a week to rest and serve the Lord. But to insist that it must be Saturday is not in the New Testament. We find Christians worshipping on the first day of the week in the New Testament—something big must have happened on Sunday to get them to change their worship day and that would be the resurrection of Christ.

Below is a fuller explanation.

In Jesus our Savior,

Pastor Tom

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From John MacArthur’s “Grace to You” website (gty.org)

Are the Sabbath laws binding on Christians today?

Colossians 2:16-17; 1 Chronicles 23:31; Nehemiah 9:14; Acts 20:7

We believe the Old Testament regulations governing Sabbath observances are ceremonial, not moral, aspects of the law. As such, they are no longer in force, but have passed away along with the sacrificial system, the Levitical priesthood, and all other aspects of Moses' law that prefigured Christ. Here are the reasons we hold this view.

1. In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul explicitly refers to the Sabbath as a shadow of Christ, which is no longer binding since the substance (Christ) has come. It is quite clear in those verses that the weekly Sabbath is in view. The phrase "a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day" refers to the annual, monthly, and weekly holy days of the Jewish calendar (cf. 1 Chronicles 23:31; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 31:3; Ezekiel 45:17; Hosea 2:11). If Paul were referring to special ceremonial dates of rest in that passage, why would he have used the word "Sabbath?" He had already mentioned the ceremonial dates when he spoke of festivals and new moons.

2. The Sabbath was the sign to Israel of the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 31:16-17; Ezekiel 20:12; Nehemiah 9:14). Since we are now under the New Covenant (Hebrews 8), we are no longer required to observe the sign of the Mosaic Covenant.

3. The New Testament never commands Christians to observe the Sabbath.

4. In our only glimpse of an early church worship service in the New Testament, the church met on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7).

5. Nowhere in the Old Testament are the Gentile nations commanded to observe the Sabbath or condemned for failing to do so. That is certainly strange if Sabbath observance were meant to be an eternal moral principle.

6. There is no evidence in the Bible of anyone keeping the Sabbath before the time of Moses, nor are there any commands in the Bible to keep the Sabbath before the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai.

7. When the Apostles met at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15), they did not impose Sabbath keeping on the Gentile believers.

8. The apostle Paul warned the Gentiles about many different sins in his epistles, but breaking the Sabbath was never one of them.

9. In Galatians 4:10-11, Paul rebukes the Galatians for thinking God expected them to observe special days (including the Sabbath).

10. In Romans 14:5, Paul forbids those who observe the Sabbath (these were no doubt Jewish believers) to condemn those who do not (Gentile believers).

11. The early church fathers, from Ignatius to Augustine, taught that the Old Testament Sabbath had been abolished and that the first day of the week (Sunday) was the day when Christians should meet for worship (contrary to the claim of many seventh-day sabbatarians who claim that Sunday worship was not instituted until the fourth century).

12. Sunday has not replaced Saturday as the Sabbath. Rather the Lord's Day is a time when believers gather to commemorate His resurrection, which occurred on the first day of the week. Every day to the believer is one of Sabbath rest, since we have ceased from our spiritual labor and are resting in the salvation of the Lord (Hebrews 4:9-11).

So while we still follow the pattern of designating one day of the week a day for the Lord's people to gather in worship, we do not refer to this as "the Sabbath."

John Calvin took a similar position. He wrote,

There were three reasons for giving this [fourth] commandment: First, with the seventh day of rest the Lord wished to give to the people of Israel an image of spiritual rest, whereby believers must cease from their own works in order to let the Lord work in them. Secondly, he wished that there be an established day in which believers might assemble in order to hear his Law and worship him. Thirdly, he willed that one day of rest be granted to servants and to those who live under the power of others so that they might have a relaxation from their labor. The latter, however, is rather an inferred than a principal reason.

As to the first reason, there is no doubt that it ceased in Christ; because he is the truth by the presence of which all images vanish. He is the reality at whose advent all shadows are abandoned. Hence St. Paul (Col. 2:17) that the sabbath has been a shadow of a reality yet to be. And he declares elsewhere its truth when in the letter to the Romans, ch. 6:8, he teaches us that we are buried with Christ in order that by his death we may die to the corruption of our flesh. And this is not done in one day, but during all the course of our life, until altogether dead in our own selves, we may be filled with the life of God. Hence, superstitious observance of days must remain far from Christians.

The two last reasons, however, must not be numbered among the shadows of old. Rather, they are equally valid for all ages. Hence, though the sabbath is abrogated, it so happens among us that we still convene on certain days in order to hear the word of God, to break the [mystic] bread of the Supper, and to offer public prayers; and, moreover, in order that some relaxation from their toil be given to servants and workingmen. As our human weakness does not allow such assemblies to meet every day, the day observed by the Jews has been taken away (as a good device for eliminating superstition) and another day has been destined to this use. This was necessary for securing and maintaining order and peace in the Church.

As the truth therefore was given to the Jews under a figure, so to us on the contrary truth is shown without shadows in order, first of all, that we meditate all our life on a perpetual sabbath from our works so that the Lord may operate in us by his Spirit; secondly, in order that we observe the legitimate order of the Church for listening to the word of God, for administering the sacraments, and for public prayers; thirdly, in order that we do not oppress inhumanly with work those who are subject to us. [From Instruction in Faith, Calvin's own 1537 digest of the Institutes, sec. 8, "The Law of the Lord"].

For further study, see D. A. Carson, ed., From Sabbath to Lord's Day (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982).