Jude’s triad arrangements

The Book of Jude deals mostly with Apostasy and False teachers – a topic which is very relevant to the current state of many of our Christian churches. In addition, one of the literary features of Jude’s epistle is his use of triads i.e. relating things in terms of threes. Praise the Triune God for Jude's style of literary Trinitarianism. Theologians have identified 18 or more such triads in the Book of Jude. Here are a few examples.

Verse	Proof/comments
Jude 1:1	The author Jude (1), a servant of Jesus Christ (2) and a brother of James (3)
Jude 1:1	To those who have been called (by the Holy Spirit), who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: [If you consider “calling” as a function of the Holy Spirit, you will see there are two triads (1) called, loved and kept (2) Holy Spirit, God the Father and Jesus Christ]
Jude 1:2	Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
Jude 1:5-7	“Triad of rebels” Rebellious Israelites who did not believe (5), the fallen angels (6) and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah (7).
Jude 1:8	“Three conducts of false teachers (preachers who make stuff up)” Pollute their own bodies, Reject authority and Slander celestial beings (including God)
Jude 1:11	“Triad of wicked Old Testament personalities” Cain, Balaam and Korah
Jude 1:19	“Characteristics of false teachers” Cause divisions, Worldly people, devoid of the Holy Spirit
Jude 1:20, 21	“the Trinity” Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, Keep yourselves in God's (the Father’s) love, wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
Jude 1:20, 21	“Triad of Participles” Build, Pray, Wait
Jude 1:25	“Triad of Time” All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time.

Athanasian Creed and the Trinity

The Athanasian Creed is a well-known Christian statement of belief, focusing on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology [1]. The Athanasian Creed speaks against the heresy of Tritheism. However, there is one sentence (sentence 20) in this creed that disagrees with the scriptures. The Athanasian Creed forbids using plurals to refer to The Trinity.

So we (Christians) are forbidden by the true church; to say, There are three Gods, or three Lords.

There are over a thousand instances of Elohim (Gods) referring to Yahveh in the Old Testament. Besides the instances of Elohim, there are other Hebrew plurals referring to Yahveh – it has been discussed throughout this blog. Christians can discuss the fact that the literal translations of plural forms referring to Yahveh are plural without subscribing to polytheism (more specifically Tritheism).

Footnote:

1. The creeds of Christendom: with a history and critical notes, Volume 1 By Philip Schaff

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Romans 1:1-4 is a very important Trinitarian proof passage in the Bible. In these verses, Paul sums up the gospel of Jesus Christ, i.e., crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If anyone believes that Christ was crucified for his/her sin and was resurrected on the third day (and is alive today), he/she will have eternal life.

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

In these passages, Paul also asserts that the Old Testament is filled with promises about this Gospel (i.e.) crucifixion and resurrection. These words also remind one of Christ’s own words where He asserted,  “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me” (John 5:39). This is one of the frustrating verses in the Bible for the so called Bible scholars. They complain that Christ should have given them some reference verses from the Old Testament. However, they totally miss Christ’s point. If one removes the Father-only blinders, the proofs about the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament becomes obvious.

David’s last words (2 Samuel 23:1-4)

1. These are the last words of David:

“The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel’s singer of songs:

2. The Spirit of the Lord (Holy Spirit) spoke through me. His words were on my tongue;

3. the God of Israel (God the Father) said it; the Rock of Israel (God the Son) spoke to me: He who rules over men as a righteous person, who rules by the fear of God,

4. He is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.

King David was the second king of Israel and ruled over Israel for 40 years. God said concerning David: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do' (Acts 13:22). David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote many Trinitarian Psalms. The last words of David are recorded in 2 Samuel 23. In 2 Samuel 23:2-3, David mentions God three times. Verse 2 is about God the Holy Spirit. In verse 3, the God of Israel, a term always associated with God the Father, is mentioned.

The Rock of Israel is an obvious reference to God the Son, Jesus Christ. One of my favorite hymns is “Rock of Ages Cleft for Me” - a hymn dedicated to Jesus Christ. Christ has been referred to as the Rock throughout the Bible (e.g. Numbers 20:8, 10-11; 1 Corinthians 10:4). David wrote that Christ is his Rock, Fortress, and Deliverer (Psalm 18:2). Christ is referred to as the Chief Corner Stone (Psalm 118:22; Mark 12:10) upon which the Christian Church is erected. Christ is also the Rock of Offense; He himself warned us that whosoever stumbles or falls upon this Rock [Christ] shall be broken to pieces; and upon whomsoever this Rock shall fall, he shall be ground into powder (Isaiah 8:14-15; Matthew 21:44). Very soon humans will see the grinding action of this very same Rock against the antichrist as He shatters the “man of sin” into dust (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12).