WHAT DOES “GOD IN THREE PERSONS” REALLY MEAN?
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here is in the denominational churches an old tradi- one GOD manifesting three “personas” or roles in His tional hymn that begins with the words written by nature: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. All first generation Reverend Reginald Heber: Christians knew that when they heard the phrase “God in three persons” or personas, they were accurately in Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! terpreting it to mean God manifesting or performing the Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee; roles of His three natures. When ancient Jews converted holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty, to Christianity, they did not feel they had forsaken the God in three persons, blessed Trinity! holy Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord!” They saw God the Father manifested as Jesus This hymn, written over a hundred and fifty years ago, is Christ and the Holy Spirit. Paul, a converted Jew, wrote still sung all over the world today and is a mainstay for of this revelation in 1 Timothy 3:16: “And without conmany churches in their morning worship. troversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manIt is the word “persons” we need to focus upon and ifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, look into its historic origin, for the word was popular preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, reduring ancient times when the Apostolic Christian church ceived up into glory.” was founded by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and However, by the fourth and fifth centuries, the word His apostles. The original meaning of the word was quite “persona” had taken on a different meaning: an individdifferent from what has evolved into the meaning of the ual, an embodiment of a single being. The Latin became word today. All high school senior English teachers who the mother language of several including Spanish, French, teach the classics introduce the word to students, making Italian, and Portuguese The word “persona” entered the it general knowledge for all. languages of Germanic origins, where in English “persoFor 37 years I taught English literature in public high na” became “person.” The original definition of “perschool. Most high schools across the nation require the sona” was lost in its evolution and translation into the ancient Greek play Oedipus, the King to be taught at the modern languages today. senior level. While introducing the background of the play In the first century of church history,“three persons in to my AP seniors, I spoke of the masks the ancient actors God” simply meant to the ancient Christian three maniwore on stage. The ancient Greek word for “mask” was festations or the three roles of nature in God’s awesome “prosopon” (πρόσωπον). The actor would play several Self - not three individuals or beings - but one Lord and characters, including female roles, since women were not Savior! allowed on stage. When the ancient Romans assimilated The word Trinity is NEVER mentioned in the Bible. the Greek plays into their culture, the ancient Greek word Jews and Muslims today find it very difficult to accept the evolved into the Latin word “persona.” The ancient Ro- Trinitarian doctrine of three individuals in heaven until man actors continued to perform the tradition of several they discover our Apostolic doctrine, unchanged since the roles by changing their “personas” or masks. Therefore, first generation of Christians. Trinitarians like to accuse ONE actor portrayed several characters or roles in the us Apostolic Pentecostals of being “Jesus only” where, play’s plot. It is easy to see that the ancient definition for in fact, we are “Jesus everything!” Therefore, we of the the word “persona” did not mean an “individual”, but Apostolic faith today can declare without confusion: the representation, manifestation, and/or role ONE actor could portray of SEVERAL. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord!” In the first and second centuries of church history, the DEUTERONOMY 6:4 word “persona” could easily have been used by ancient Christian preachers and teachers with the meaning of SUMMERNEWSVINE NEWSVINE2019 2019 3 3 SUMMER
