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resurrection, close of probation, translation, investigative judgment, and the second coming are not in the Bible. Does that mean that these doctrines are not true? In other words, they are found in ideology, but not by the above titles or names.

     The same is true for the Trinity. That is, although the subject of the Trinity is implicit rather than explicit, it is none the less certain.

  

What is Meant by the Trinity?

      What do we mean when we say Trinity? Now, there are variations, but the strictly biblical view is probably well summarized in the denomination's list of beliefs and Mrs. White's comments: "That the Godhead, or Trinity, consists of the Eternal Father, a personal, spiritual Being, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, infinite in wisdom and love; the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, through whom all things were created and through whom the salvation of the redeemed hosts will be accomplished; the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, the great regenerating power in the work of redemption."

     The thought is that there is only one God, one divine nature. "This one divine being is tri-personal, involving the distinctions of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit." 3





      Ellen White was more explicit: "There are three living persons of the Heavenly Trio . . . The eternal heavenly dignitaries–God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit. . . . . We are to cooperate with the three highest powers in heaven,  the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 4

     In reference to the divinity of Christ, she wrote: "Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God . . .He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. . . . He was equal with God, infinite and omnipotent. . . He is the eternal, self-existent Son. . . . In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. . . . the divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance of eternal life." 5 Speaking about the Holy Spirit,  she put it this way: "We need to realize that the Holy Spirit, is as much a person as God 















is a person. . . . The Holy Spirit is a person, for He beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God ... The Spirit has a personality. . . 6.


The Trinity is a Great Mystery

      There can be no doubt that the doctrine of the tri-personal God is one of the great mysteries. We will not pretend that we can possibly understand God beyond what He has revealed to us, and hence, we cannot hope to fully articulate this inscrutable of subjects. This is not a crutch, but a simple fact. To try and elucidate the doctrine of the Holy Spirit with full clarity to our  finite human minds, is almost as impossible as trying to explain calculus to a grasshopper! It actually is no different from explaining how God became man, or how Christ was both God and man at the same time! It is this kind

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