Jude 1:20-25
Mr. Al Kadhi begins his assault on these verses by asking a rhetorical question: "By now we begin to get the picture. Do these verses require a Trinity?. Do they say "God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are ONE God?"" The question should ask: do these verses imply the existence of the Trinity? The answer is yes.
Al Kadhi proceeds with a false analogy in his attempt to dismiss this passage: "If a father told his sons who were going off to war "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your training, obeying your superior officers, Keep yourselves in the love of your country while you look for the mercy of God to return you home to us safely," can we honestly claim that this statement requires a "merging of three into one"?" The Trinity, a concept which really eludes Mr. Al Kadhi, is simply God, God's Word (Jesus), and God's Spirit (Holy Spirit). Military training, obeying the orders of commissioned officers, and patriotism are different feelings and experiences which arise from the military as well as from the "national" culture. What is Jude saying in this letter?
Verse 20 tells believers to build themselves up in the spirit, rather than separate themselves, and to do this in the Holy Spirit, rather than in the absence of the Spirit. Building on faith is the same as building on Christ, who is the object of our faith. The Holy Spirit teaches believers what we are to pray for and how we are supposed to pray (see Romans 8:26).
In Verse 21, Jude combines God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit with the concepts of faith, hope, and love. We are to keep ourselves "in the love of God". In other words, God's love for us is our only guarantee of safety. Jude implies that humans need to be watched and cannot "keep themselves", unless God, in His love, keeps them. The mercy of Jesus Christ is fully manifested upon His coming into this world. Mercy is an attribute that is usually attributed to God the Father but in this verse it is also attributed to the Son (Jesus) making the Father and the Son One.
Mr. Al Kadhi chooses to ignore verse 25. He may, or may not, be interested to know that the oldest manuscripts added the phrase, "through Jesus Christ our Lord." The transcribers, believed that "Savior" applied to Christ alone, and they omitted these words. The message of this verse is that only God (the Father) who is our Savior, through the mediation of, Jesus Christ our Lord. It is also interesting that the oldest manuscripts of this passage, as well as the Vulgate, have the phrase "before all the age," after "power," as well as "and now," (the present) "and to all the ages" (forever). In other words, Jesus, being one with the Father, is, has always been, and always will be.
Al Kadhi raises an interesting question : "An interesting point is that when people tell us about the doctrine of the "Trinity," even in the very best case, they never try to claim that any Jew knew of this formula before the coming of Jesus (pbuh) or worshiped a "Triune" God. However, God Almighty was sending prophets to the Jews for centuries before the time of Jesus, and Jesus is claimed to have been in existence before all of creation. Why did none of these previous prophets tell their people that God was three?"
He continues to ask: "Did the countless prophets of the Old Testament not know about the "Trinity"? Did God not see fit to tell the Jews about the Trinity? Was God not yet a "Trinity" when He sent Abraham (pbuh) to his people? Was He not yet a "Trinity" when He spoke to Moses (pbuh)? Did He become a "Trinity" later on? How then do we explain the Christian creed of Nicea, the official Church definition of the "Trinity" which requires the "co-eternity" and "co-substantiality" of Jesus with God?"
The Old Testament does, in fact, reveal a "Triune" God. Rather then repeating what has already been written, please read for the Old Testament Evidence. The word "Trinity" is not mentioned in the Bible, however, there is overwhelming evidence for the existence of the Trinity. Perhaps Mr. Al Kadhi's confusion is the result of the different viewpoints held by Christians and Muslims concerning the Bible and Koran. The God of the Bible want us to love Him with our hearts, souls, and MINDS. Christians believe that God reveals His message to the human race through His words and through history - both are recorded in the Bible. He expects us to use the intelligence that He gave us to come to Him.
The Rebuttal to "What Did Jesus Really Say?"
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