Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An invaluable discussion of the doctrine of the Trinity, August 4, 2004
The doctrine of the Trinity is not an easy thing to comprehend, but understanding is critical in our chaotic modern world where various groups reject the full divinity of Jesus; to truly understand the New Testament, you need to know the truth about the Trinity. In this short but well-constructed book, Robert Crossley attempts to clear up any confusion about this doctrine and enable readers to arm themselves with the truth of One God - Three Persons.
There is only one God, yet the Bible speaks of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. How can this be? That is a question each Christian must grapple with in order to fully realize the truth of God's love. Crossley begins by gleaning the revealed facts about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit from both the Old and New Testaments. The core truths do not change, but they are sharpened in the pages of the New Testament for the simple reason that the promises of the Old Testament have been realized, in Jesus. By comparing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, he shows that they are all one and the same.
Crossley's central argument is that the Trinity consists of one God in three persons. He presents an impressive argument for the separation of the Trinity into three persons, making extensive use of the Bible to show the distinction that must be made between God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I was most interested in Crossley's discussion of the Holy Spirit, for this is the least understood concept of the doctrine. He makes the case that the Holy Spirit is a distinct personality and not some kind of murky "influence." He describes the Holy Spirit as a distinct person who revolutionizes people's lives; indeed, salvation comes from God through the Holy Spirit.
The word Trinity cannot be found in the New Testament, which came as something of a surprise to me. Does this mean the doctrine of the Trinity is unimportant to the Christian? Of course not; it is in fact of supreme importance to those who would know God. Crossley explains how this doctrine grew out of the early Christian Church. Those earliest Christians knew God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit from close, personal experience; the questions Crossley attempts to answer in this book would never even have occurred to those early Christians. What they knew from experience gradually became incorporated into the doctrine of the Trinity. In formulating the doctrine, they were attempting to explain in human terms the majesty and glory of God, which of course transcends human reason, and the limitations of the human mind and of language account for the confusion that naturally surrounds the concept even today.
Crossley ends the book by addressing three of the most common questions asked about the doctrine of the Trinity, reiterating the fact that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. This takes him to an area of great concern for him, namely the rejection of Jesus' full deity by some groups, but it also challenges Christians who believe that Jesus was God in human form. Crossley effectively proves that God the Father and Jesus the Son are distinct persons and that Jesus was both fully divine and fully human - had this not been the case, Jesus could not have become the Savior of the world.
This is a well-argued, thought-provoking little book that all Christians can benefit from. The doctrine of the Trinity is a hard one to grasp, but the Christian must make the effort to understand the concept of three persons in one God in order to truly understand the message of the New Testament.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
