Who said he had to explain it clearly?

The question contains a statement that is not a fact - Jesus does not 'have' to do anything but what he chooses to do. In my opinion, the words of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament are more often enigmatic than clear and concise. Which is exactly why there are as many interpretations of them as there are grains of sand.

I'm not sure if I am remembering this correctly but I think the "Trinity" concept was established by the Council of Nicea in....320 something. In other words, Christ didn't preach it, man created it to reconcile the idea of there being one God in three forms. Hope this helps.

The trinity is not a christian belief, infact the word doesn't apear in the bible at all, Jesus said the father is greater than i, if he agreed with the trinity he wouldn't have said that he would have said the father is equal to me and also think if jesus and God are the same person, who did jesus pray to? No Jesus, God and the holly spirit are 3 seperate things and the bible agrees with this, as i said the trinity is a man made idea, not a bible teaching. Jesus also said the father is greater than I. Jesus won't explain it because he never believed it himself, i suggest you read the Bible and find out for yourself.

Because the church benefited greatly by all the Bible study it had to do to prove the Trinity. By the way, there's a great new book out called The Jewish Trinity. You can order it at Amazon.com and it shows that the doctrine of the Trinity was already extremely clear in the Old Testament. You can get more information, and download a lot of free material, at yoel.info on the Net.

"God created the heavens and the Earth" is also foundational, but Jesus did not explain that at all. There are a great many important things that Jesus chose not to explain clearly. I do not think it is useful to imagine or try to divine why God reveals some things and not others. Now I know lots of you reject this thinking, but... I think the case can be made that he did explain it, if not directly in one speech. He said "I and my father are one," "if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father," "I go to my Father and He will send you another comforter, the Spirit," etc. Jesus also blessed Thomas when calling Jesus "my lord and my God." Jesus said "even before Abraham was, I am," A statement that I think objective analyses would recognize as a claim to be God - Jews who heard him make the statement picked up stones to stone him which indicates that they recognized the claim as heresy worthy of death by stoning. I have to believe they understood Jesus to be claiming for himself the attribute (if not the name) of the God of Abraham and Moses. Theologians looked at these and many other claims and said... well, Jesus must be God, and the Father must be God, but they have a relationship that allows the Father to love the Son and the Son to submit to the Father, etc. Since the Bible is clear that there is only one God let us call this one God with personalities that can communicate, send, love, have subject-object relationships... a Trinity. Theologians did not "invent" the idea, they got it from the Bible and just gave it a name. If Jesus had said something like "Now, I am God the Creator of the Universe. My Father is also God the Creator of the Universe. The Spirit is also God. We are one divine being, but I am not the Father or the Spirit and the Father is not the Spirit either... just trust me on this one," it might have made this particular question clearer for us, but lots of people would have just written it off as incomprehensible metaphor, signs of mental instability or something else. Note: every Trinitarian I have ever heard or read recognizes only one God - one Divine Being. Claiming they have three Gods is a misrepresentation of what they very clearly teach. Perhaps some critics really don't know what Trinitarians teach, but it looks like dishonest smear tactics when people make "polytheism" type claims (it might be more accurate to use 'attacks' rather than 'claims', but I prefer to give some benefit of doubt).

Actually he did. Jesus himself tells us of the unity of God in John 14:10 "Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work." In that same chapter he tells the disciples, in John 14:16, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor (Holy Spirit)." Doesn't get any more clear than that!

Because the word trinity does not appear at all in the Bible. Because Jesus did not believe in the trinity as he was no part of one. Consider all of these sources and what thet say too: The Encyclopedia of Religion says: “Theologians agree that the New Testament also does not contain an explicit doctrine of the Trinity.” Jesuit Fortman states: “The New Testament writers . . . give us no formal or formulated doctrine of the Trinity, no explicit teaching that in one God there are three co-equal divine persons. . . . Nowhere do we find any trinitarian doctrine of three distinct subjects of divine life and activity in the same Godhead.” The New Encyclopædia Britannica observes: “Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament.” Bernhard Lohse says in A Short History of Christian Doctrine: “As far as the New Testament is concerned, one does not find in it an actual doctrine of the Trinity.” The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology similarly states: “The N[ew] T[estament] does not contain the developed doctrine of the Trinity. ‘The Bible lacks the express declaration that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are of equal essence’ [said Protestant theologian Karl Barth].” Yale University professor E. Washburn Hopkins affirmed: “To Jesus and Paul the doctrine of the trinity was apparently unknown; . . . they say nothing about it.”—Origin and Evolution of Religion. Historian Arthur Weigall notes: “Jesus Christ never mentioned such a phenomenon, and nowhere in the New Testament does the word ‘Trinity’ appear. The idea was only adopted by the Church three hundred years after the death of our Lord.”—The Paganism in Our Christianity. Thus, neither the 39 books of the Hebrew Scriptures nor the canon of 27 inspired books of the Christian Greek Scriptures provide any clear teaching of the Trinity.

The term trinity is not holy,it is a term that was coined by a man named Turtullian in 210AD he was later excommunicated from the church for saying and promoting Montanaus a man as the paraclete(Holy Ghost). To study the trinity one must go outside the Bible. Most christian believe in one God the arguement is do you call him the trinity of Gods,Persons or Manifestations. The Nicean Creed that those who uphold the term trinity DOES NOT USE THE TERM TRINITY. Here is the creed that so many base their faith in instead of the Bible. (We believe (I believe) in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages. (God of God) light of light, true God of true God. Begotten not made, consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnate of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary and was made man; was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried; and the third day rose again according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose Kingdom there shall be no end. And (I believe) in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father (and the Son), who together with the Father and the Son is to be adored and glorified, who spoke by the Prophets. And one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We confess (I confess) one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for (I look for) the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.")

Jesus doesnt explain the trinity, because it was never taught in the bible. The trinity would have been a very foreign idea to the common Jew of Jesus' day. Everyday Jews were instructed to recite Deut 6:4. Hear O Isreal, the Lord our God is one Lord. Telling a first century Jew, or even a Jew of the 21st century, that God, has 2 other people who are co-equal and copowerful, would look at you like you were crazy. Who was it that crucified Jesus? The Jews!!! Why??? Because he claimed to be God!!! Not Jehovah Jr. Not just a Son of God, but God himself. We all know and are willing to admit that there are certain things concerning the Bible, that is hard to comprehend, or underatand, but the Godhead isnt one of them.

He didn't explain it clearly because it doesn't exsist, Jesus made it clear that he is God and the OT made it clear in many cases where it seemed like Jesus himself was speaking, this did not mean that The was a God the Son, the Second person. I am Oneness and believe that Jesus is God according to the bible. It teaches clearly. People Just complicate the word by adding things too it and it gets many people who are new to the word confused. Lord Help us. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

The Trinity is not a foundation of Christian belief. The Gospel is. God, in order to make a final sacrifice for all of mankind's sins, sent His only son, Jesus, to die on the cross. Then resurrected Him to ascend to the right hand of the Father on high, as a continual advocate on the behalf of all those that believe in His Gospel. The Trinity is a doctrine that spawned much later among Christians.

Although the word "trinity" is not used in the New Testament, the concept is definitely there. eg Matthew 28: 19 Jesus himself says to baptise "in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", one name, three Persons. Many other verses back up the claim that there are three Persons in the One God. That is how a doctrine is established, by discussion and the putting together of many passages that say the same thing. It is a common fallacy that the doctrine was introduced in the fourth century, with the Council of Nicea being named frequently, but, in fact, the Trinity was firmly adhered to by second century Christians(such as Ireneus and Polycarp), many of whom knew the Apostles personally, and would have been in a great position to either deny that this was apostolic teaching had it been a problem. By the time of the Council of Nicea in 325, the Trinity was a done deal, and it was not debated. The main discussion of Nicea was whether or not Jesus was a created being or co-existent with the Father. Arius, who had put forward the theory, had some support initially, especially from members of the Imperial family, but his teachings were eventually rejected by an almost unanimous vote, after extensive discussions. Still, Arius never denied the Trinity outright, just Jesus' place in it. Likewise, Nestorius, whose beliefs were discussed at the Council of Ephesus in 431, did not deny the Trinity, though, for a while, he wondered about the nature of Christ. A copy of a book written by him towards the end of his life, found in 1895, affirms that he believed in the Trinity and the twofold nature of Christ. The Eastern Church, which followed his teachings, and took the Gospel as far as China, Korea and Japan by the middle ages, was Trinitarian. The great western reformers, Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, and so on, weer critical of many Roman Catholic teachings, but never questioned the Trinity. The denominational and non-denominational churches who adhere to the teachings of these reformers, are trinitarian. There are very few churches, in fact, who deny the trinity. Those which do, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Christadelphians, are so divergent from traditional Christian teaching that they are rightly labelled sects, not denominations.

Well, it's not THE FOUNDATION of Christian belief. Jesus did say, "I and the Father am one" and "whoever has seen me has seen the Father." I think this would make things quite obvious.

To put it simply, the Trinity doctrine is not a Biblical doctrine. It originated, not with Christian teachings, but in ancient Babylon (at the time, it was the center of false religion on earth). It no longer is inhabited, but its teachings found their ways into "Christian" teachings. The trinity doctrine is only one such false teaching.

Some things require a deep search into God's word. I you read God's word you can see where the doctrin of the trinity comes from. Look at these passages: The Word was God Jhn 1:1 Thomas said: "My Lord and My God" Jhn 20:28 God calls Jesus God Hbr 1:8 I AM-God's name in the Old Testament Exd 3:14 I AM-Before Abraham I AM Jhn 8:58 Not robbery to be equal to God Phl 2:6 It was prophesied Isa 9:6 Acknowledged by Thomas Jhn 20:18 Affirmed by the Apostles Rom 9:5; Hbr 1:8 Acclaimed by witnesses Jhn 1:14, 18 All powerful Mat 28:18 All knowing Col 2:3 Ever present Mat 18:20> Eternal Jhn 1:1, 2, 15 and these are just some of the passages that are used to "prove" the trinity. The J.W.'s and Morman's have either changed these passages to meet their doctrins or are going by a so called modern day prophet whose prophesies have been proven false. It is harder to understand the bible if you never read it.

Hebrews 9:24: "Christ entered...into heaven itself, now to appear before the person of God for us." John 4:24: "God is a Spirit." John 7:28: "he that sent me is real," said Jesus. If Jesus is the almight God, then which God sent him to the planet earth? If the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one in the same, then who sustained the universe while Mary carried the baby Jesus in her womb.

because Jesus was not a christian. Jesus lived and died a religious observant jew. Christianity occured after his death and resurrection therefore Jesus would not have discussed *christian* theology as such. Jesus did say he was the Word and the Word was God..so he did claim at least a two fold Godhead...

Jesus did explain the Holy Trinity. The Trinity consists of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Many times he spoke of the three names.

John 16: 12-14. This is Jesus speaking: "Oh, there is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't understand it now. When the Holy Spirit, who is truth, comes, he shall guide you into all truth, for he will not be presenting is own ideas, but he will be passing on to you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He shall praise me and bring me great honor by showing you my glory". There were many things that Jesus did not explain to his disciples at the time but as he says in this scripture they will be revealed to them when the time is right. I believe that honoring the Holy Trinity was part of this plan.

why would he need to explain something so evident from the teachings already in the writings? the Father (not the Spirit) sent the Son into the world (Mk. 9:37; Mt. 10:40; Gal. 4:4), but that both the Father and the Son send the Spirit (Jn. 14:26; 15:26; 16:7)....Jesus said, "I and the Father are one" (Jn. 10:30), and "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn. 14:9)....In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God" (Jn. 1:1-2)....John 1:14,the "Word became flesh and dwelt among us." ...Genesis 1:26. "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness....Isaiah 6:8. "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?...Have this mind among yourselves, which you have in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:5-8).

The Bible does clearly show what is required for Salvation and yet the Trinity is a mystery that no one can really understand, nor did the Biblical Writers make any such issue about God being triune or Jesus being God which Trinitarians say is necessary for salvation. The Bible tells us that we must believe that Jesus came in the flesh and that we must confess that he is the Christ, along with being obedient. Nothing in the Scriptures tell us that we must believe he is the Almighty God or better yet "a person of God" inorder to obtain eternal life.

1) Trinity is not for all christians a foundation of their belief, only for the "trinitarians" 2) One of the main reason why Trinity is so important for the trinitarians could be that this belief make a difference between them and the others (which they call eventually heretics). For the trinitarians, the concept was implicit in the Bible. (It is not explicitely mentioned there). They find that Jesus's explanations were sufficient to establish the belief (what others do not). Some very interesting information about Trinity can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity

Because Trinity is not teh foundation on true christian belief. That's why Jesus never explained it because there is NO SUCH THING!!! The trinity is something that people made up because they can't take the fact that Jesus is an amazing God. If you believe he created the whole world then why would it be dificult for him to manifest himself as a human and as a God?

Jesus (God the Son) is subject to God the Father in rank and authority, not in substance of being.

How can the nature of God, who is infinite, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, etc. be "explained clearly"? The inner workings of God's nature is a mystery that mankind has been contemplating for millenia as he tries to work out the implications of what Jesus preached and what was preached about Him. Words such as trinity, kenosis, or hypostatic-union only go so far but invarriably fall short of the complete picture. That doesn't make them man-based or anti-scriptural, however.

"The Trinity" is a human attempt to explain a divine mystery.

Sorry, there isn't room to put it all together! Also God refers to Himself as the Alpha and Omega in Isaiah, the first and the last and Jesus refers to Himself as Alpha and Omega in Revelation. I believe it was Scriptures like these that lead the early church to come to the Trinity description. Also, the term Elohim (creator) is a plural term, I think it is Hebrew. Also, there are many things Jesus didn't explain specifically. I think because He wants us to wrestle and debate and argue and talk about it. Just like this.

Read the entire Book of Titus and John 17; John 14 and 15 as well.

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity states there is one true God who is made up of three separate but equal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible does not contain the word Trinity. However, the Holy Trinity is hinted at repeatedly in both the Old and New Testaments. For many biblical references, see: http://www.cwo.com/~pentrack/catholic/Trinity.txt Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the early Christians prayed and struggled over these hints for a couple of centuries. The concept of the Holy Trinity (three equal persons in one God) was mainstream Christianity in 325 C.E. at the Council of Nicaea and our belief is expressed in the Nicene Creed. How this works is not fully known and is one the Christian mysteries. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is shared by most Christian denominations including Roman and Orthodox Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Episcopalians, and the Salvation Army. There is a story told about St Augustine: Augustine was walking along the seashore trying to figure out the mystery of the Holy Trinity and came up to a little boy. The boy was trying to pour the ocean into a hole in the sand with a seashell. Augustine told the boy what he was doing was impossible. Then the little boy told Augustine that it is also impossible for the mind of man to try to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The little boy turned into an angel and disappeared. For more information, see Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 232 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt1art1p2.htm#232 The major non-Trinitarian churches are Christadelphianism, Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Arian Catholicism, Unitarianism, Nontrinitarianism, and Oneness Pentecostals. With love in Christ.

Not all things are explained throughout the Bible, somethings were widely known and not needed to be explained. Not saying that this gives any evidence for belief but...for those of you that are saying that the Bible dosn't give any evidence for the trinity, therefore you choose not to believe, I have a question...do you choose to follow the belief's that the Bible does have evidence for? Just food for thought on the trinity. #1 not a foundation for the belief in Christ. His death and resurrection are the foundation for Christianity. But consider this. The Bible states that God is Love, and that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever i.e eternal, and that He is the only God in heaven, and there are "none other like Him" (I could go on and on about the descriptive characteristics that the Bible gives) Than how if God is eternal, and love requires action (giver and receiver) did God love before the creation of all things? THere would have to be someone there for Him to love from all eternity. Then if this were not true than the Bible is false in what is say that God is love and he is eternal. And if it were true than there was someone present with him from all eternity, but since God is the only God in heaven (according to the Bible) and he is the only eternal one, then the idea of the trinity is given a little more weight. Somewhat confusing I know, but we will never understand a God that is able to create all things. Also the idea of the only begotten son, is that to be begotten was to be in likeness of, or to descend from. SO he would be in likeness to God, the BIble says that there is no one like God, yet Jesus says that he is like God. The Bible says that Jesus is the only Begotten son of God. He is from God, unlike man is. Man was created, Jesus was begotten not created. Jesus says that he is the image of the invisible God, if you have seen him that you have seen God. This is the idea of begotten. The only Son of God. I understand all the history behind the trinity, but I hope this might help in your understanding of what they are trying to get at. It is just man's sad attempt at trying to understand a limitless God. If Jesus and God are truly one then this might clear a few things up.

Big 'if'. I always thought the foundation of Christianity was the Resurrection. But if you don't like the idea of the Trinity, please explain why Jesus would command that people be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I don't think that the Trinity doctrine as we know it currently is a Christian foundation. The tri-une nature of God is revealed in Scripture and the Trinity is how humanity has come to understand or interpret it: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Galatians 1:11-12 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Bible was "breathed out" by God. Galatians 1: 11-12 tells us that the gospel was a revelation from Jesus Christ himself, which was recorded by Jesus disciples and Paul. God himself chose the disciples and the people whom He knew were going to spread His word and write the Bible. The Bible was written by approximately 40 men of diverse backgrounds over the course of 4000 years. Despite being penned by different authors over 40 centuries, the Bible does not contradict itself and does not contain any errors. The authors all present different perspectives, but they all proclaim the same one true God, and the same one way of salvation—Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). In John 8:58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" The above verse speaks a lot about who Jesus really is. All about Jesus and the Holy Trinity explained in the below website. http://jesustrinity.blogspot.com Lots of videos, sermons, songs are also present, along with all of Jesus miracles, his parables, and questions on his birth, crucifixion, resurrection are answered. Many major questions on Christianity are answered with lot of examples that cannot be denied by anyone, such as, 1) Did Jesus really exist? Is He God? Why did He suffer on the Cross? 2) What is so special about Jesus? Why cant I just view him as an ordinary man or a teacher or a prophet? Why should I see him as God? Pasting a small part from the website. Visit the website to strengthen your faith in Jesus or to know more about Him. Jesus is God. 1.Thomas calls Jesus God in John 20:28 (Note, Thomas addresses Jesus specifically.) 2. Jesus is God in Heb. 1:8 3. John the apostle states that Jesus was the Word which was God that became flesh (John 1:1-14) 4. The phrase "Call upon the name of the LORD" (Hebrew, YHWH, i.e., Psalm 116:4) used only of God on the OT, and translated into the Greek in the LXX as "Call upon the name of the LORD (greek, KURIOS)," applied to Jesus in the NT (1 Cor. 1:2) Jesus is God in flesh 5. The apostle John says that Jesus was , "…calling God His own Father, making Himself equal to God," (John 5:18) 6. Jesus said that He and the Father are One (John 10:30), that caused the Pharisees to claim that Jesus was making Himself out to be God. 7. Jesus knew all things (John 21:17) 8. Jesus knew all men (John 16:30) 9. Jesus is everywhere (Matt. 28:20) 10. Jesus Christ, dwells in you (Col. 1:27) 11. Jesus is the exact representation of the Nature of God (Heb. 1:3) 12. Jesus is eternal (Micah 5:1-2) 13. Jesus gives eternal life (John 10:27-28) 14. Jesus is our only Lord and Master (Jude 4) 15. Jesus is called the Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6) 16. Jesus is called the Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6) and "God" also be called the Mighty God in Isaiah 10:21 17. Jesus is able to raise Himself from the dead (John 2:19-21) 18. Jesus created all things (Col. 1:16-17), it is God who created all things by Himself (Isaiah 44:24) 19. Jesus searches the hearts and minds of the people (Rev. 2:23) 20. Jesus is worshiped (Matt. 2:2-11; Matt.14:33; Matt.28:9; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6) Only God can be worshipped (Matt. 4:10) (same Greek word for worship is used in each place.) 21. In the OT God was seen (Exodus 6:2-3;Exodus 24:9-11; Num. 12:6-9; Acts7:2), yet no man can see God (Exodus 33:20; John 1:18). It was not the Father that was seen in the OT (John 6:46). Who, then were they seeing? See John 8:58. 22. Jesus claimed the divine name, "I AM", for Himself in John 8:58 see Exodus 3:14. 23. Jesus says you must honor him even as you honor the Father (John 5:23). 24. Jesus gives life (John 5:21). 25. Jesus bears witness of Himself (John 8:18;John 14:6). 26. Jesus is the One who will judge you on judgement day (John 5:22-23). Only God can be the judge. 27. Jesus forgives sins (Luke 5:20) (Luke 24:47,Acts 10:43) .Only God can forgive sins. http://jesustrinity.blogspot.com

Because it is only in the minds of men...who created the trinity.

how do we know it didnt get lost in translation?

because it doesn't exists it was invented after Jesus otherwise how come Jesus had never talked about it or declare it in the bible

because jesus never heard of it. it was invented after he died