DOCTRINE OF TRINITY
* The word ‘trinity is not found in Bible
* Probably coined in 2nd century AD by Tertulian
* He balanced the divine unity into trinity, setting forth Father, Son and Spirit as three
* Trinity – earliest Christian creed “I believe in God the Father Almighty, in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Holy Spirit”
WHY MUSLIMS REJECT TRINITY
* Mohammad’s time – a heretical Christian sect in Arabia – claimed that Mary was divine along with Jesus
* Sura 5:73, 116 - They worshipped the trinity – Father God, Mother Mary and Son Jesus
* Sura 53:19 - A pre-Islamic Arab myth said Allah had 3 daughters
* Sura 6:100, 101 - Another myth said that Allah fathered children through intimacy with a jinn
* Sura 17:40 Another myth said Allah adopted females from among the angels
* Sura 37:151-153, 43:16 - Another myth – Allah having begotten children, chose the daughters for himself and gave the sons to the Meccans
IN RESPONSE
* Sura 36:82 (Word of God), Sura 58:22 (God and Spirit of God) - Unknown to most Muslims, Quran also points to three things that are divine – God, Word of God and Spirit of God
ISLAMIC ATTACKS IN THE QURAN ARE ON HERESIES, NOT BIBLICAL TRUTHS
* Muslims think, by definition, that three cannot be the same as one
* Christianity emphasizes the oneness of God, no less than Islam does but God is not a mathematical concept like 1 + 1 + 1
* (Illustration) One building with three floors
* Christians reject worship of Mary
* Christians are monotheists, not polytheists. Bible does not teach us to worship 3 Gods
QURANIC VERSES ATTACK ONLY FALSE DOCTRINES OF THE TRINITY
The Quran never attacks the real Christian doctrine of the trinity – it targets false doctrines:
* Sura 2:116,117 “They say Allah has taken a son”. Christians never believe that God ‘took’ a Son, but that the son was with the father from the beginning – John 1:1, 1:14. this was even before Mary was around.
* Sura 3:59 “The likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam, he created him of dust, then he said be! And he is.”
„ This analogy fails because in other verses the Quran says that Jesus and Adam are different.
„ Sura 4:171 - Adam being created from dust and Jesus born by the Holy Spirit –
Luke 1: 26-35.
* Quran says Jesus resembles Adam – Sura 3:59 – “The similarity of Jesus before God is that of Adam. He created Him from dust and then said to him, be! And He was.”
Al-Suddi commenting on this verse said that four persons from Nijran came to Mohammad, asking his opinion about Jesus. Mohammad said, “He is a servant of God, His spirit and His Word.” Angrily the four replied, “No, He is God. Have you ever seen a child born without a father?” So Mohammad was given Sura 3:59 to state that Jesus was created from dust like Adam.
But this contradicts other Quranic verses which agree with the gospels that Jesus was not created from dust but His was a virgin birth – Sura 3:35-55, Sura 19:1-34.
* Sura 7:12 agrees with Gen 2:7, creation of Adam from dust
* Sura 2:36 adds that Adam sinned and led mankind to destruction, yet according to Sura 19:19, Jesus is holy and sinless.
v Sura 3:64 “We worship none but Allah, we associate no partners with him”
§ By calling Jesus, God, and Son of God, Christians do not associate partners with God.
§ The Quran itself calls Jesus “Word of God” and a “Spirit from Him”.
§ If Muslims think that Jesus is outside God, they are implying that God is without a Word and without a mind.
* Sura 5:116-118 “O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to mankind “Take me and my mother for two gods apart from Allah.”
Jesus never said these words. Christians do not believe this. With all respect to the virgin Mary, scripture never includes her in the Holy Trinity.
* Sura 9:30 – “The Jews said, Uzzair (Ezra) is the Son of God. The Christians said Jesus is the Son of God….”
There is no mention in the OT that Ezra is the son of God. Possibly this was an invention of a heretical cult. There is no similarity between the sonship of Jesus to God and the sonship of Uzzair – the analogy does not stand.
QURANIC ATTACKS ON DEITY OF CHRIST
- Quran says Jesus is just an apostle – Sura 4:171
- Quran says Jesus the Man could not contain God – Sura 5:17
- Quran says Jesus was too weak to be God – Sura 5:75,76 – Al Razi says Jesus had a mother, He was created, He needed food, went to the bathroom, passed wind, so Jesus cannot be God.
- Quran says Jesus claimed to be A God, apart from God – Sura 5:116
- Quran says Jesus could not be God’s son – Sura 19:35
- Quran says Jesus is only the servant of God - Sura 19:30-31
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST
- Says Jesus existed before He was born – I Tim 3:16
- Says Jesus is God in flesh – Heb 1:1-3, Col 2:9, John 1:1-4, 14
- Says Jesus became flesh voluntarily and returned to His state of divine glory after resurrection – John 10:17,18, John 17:4,5, Phil 2:5-11, Matt 16:13-18
- Says Jesus announced Himself as God – Mark 14:61-64, John 5:17,18, John 8:56,59
- Says Jesus confirmed His deity by word and actions – John 6:35, 8:12, 11:25,26
- Says Jesus is Son of God – John 1:18 – in Jewish thought, son of God meant “equal to God’
- Says Jesus lives in His followers – Gal 2:20, Rev 3:20
ISLAMIC PROOFS OF THE TRINITY
- Quran mentions Holy Trinity
o Sura 2:87 “We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear proofs and we strengthened him with the Holy Spirit.”
o Sura 5:110 “O Jesus, son of Mary, remember my favour to you and to your mother. How I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit.”
o Sura 19:17 “Then we sent unto her our spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man”
In these Quranic verses, we find the Father who strengthens, Jesus the one who is strengthened, and the Holy Spirit through whom the strengthening took place.
- Quran considers Christians to be Monotheists
o Sura 29:46 “We believe in that which has been revealed unto us and revealed unto you; our God and your God is one and to Him we surrender.”
o Sura 5:5 “This day all things good and pure, made lawful unto you. The food of the People of the Book is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them. Lawful unto you in marriage are not only chaste women who are believers but chaste women among the People of the Book…”
o Sura 2:221 - Though the Quran allows a Muslim male to marry a Christian or Jewish female, as in Sura 5:5, it forbids him to marry a polytheist –. Clearly therefore the Quran distinguishes Christians from polytheists.
JESUS AND SALVATION
- Muslims reject the invitation to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour because they refuse to believe what He said of himself and what the earlier prophets said of Him. Rev 1:5-18; 21, 6-8; 22:13,16.
- No word for ‘salvation’ in Quran – no salvation offered to Muslims
- The name ‘Isa’ given to Jesus in the Quran, means ‘Saviour’
- Sura 19:21 – says that Jesus would be a revelation for mankind at large
- Matt 1:21 talks about Jesus being Saviour for all people and one who saves us from our sins
- It would have been impossible for Jesus to save the world from sin if He were a mere CREATURE - even the highest of creatures.
- If he were a creature, His goodness and sufferings could be no proof of God’s love to men. It would be very difficult to believe in the love and mercy of God if Jesus was a mere creature.
- However, when we accept II Cor 5:9, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, we realize the truth also of John 3:16 and that He first loved us I John 4:9.
- Regarding salvation Jesus says in John 14:6 – No one goes to the Father but by me.
Despite all these explanations, only God can open the understanding of a Muslim regarding His triune self. In His love, God will answer if the Muslims will ask.
In Sura 40:60 the Quran quotes God as saying, “Call on me and I will answer your prayer.” Let us pray that they would pray and ask.
IMPORTANT
* A Muslim agrees with the NT in calling Christ the Word of God.
* Every Muslim must admit that those matters in which OT, NT and Quran agree must be true and all these three books agree on:
a. Unity of God
b. Jesus is the Word of God
QUESTION – how is it possible for the divine nature to be united with human nature?
ANSWER – how is it possible for spirit (the enduring) and flesh (the transient) to be united with one another in man?
* God is Almighty; He will do anything to accomplish his plans.
* The Gospel informs us that the humanity and deity of Christ is such that one is not changed into the other just like spirit and flesh in man.
* This union of the divine and human nature in Christ took place in order that the eternal purpose of God would be accomplished.
SIN
* Contrary to God’s nature, it is hateful to God
* Sin is ruinous and destructive to the original spiritual nature of man made in the likeness of God
* Therefore man must be free from sin
* Sin is the worst form of leprosy (in those days incurable) for the soul and spirit
* Death frees a man from bodily leprosy but it cannot free him from spiritual leprosy. In his sinful leprous state, he is most hateful to God.
The Tauret of Moses in Lev 13:45-46, forbade a man whose body was leprous to enter into the camp of Israelites and associate with his fellows. Then how less possible for a man with spiritual leprosy of sin to enter paradise.
Rev 21:27 “there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean….”
Leprosy of the body could not be healed by either the leper himself or a human physician. However, Jesus healed lepers bodily to show to the world that He can also heal spiritual leprosy. However, Jesus could not heal bodily leprosy against the will of the leper. Likewise, He will not heal spiritual leprosy by force, against the sinner’s will.
The leper must have faith in Christ in order to be healed. So also with spiritual leprosy.
Matt 1:21, John 14:6 tell us that this was the way God chose for the salvation of man.
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