The Trinity
Acts 2:32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.
Introduction
This morning we come celebrating the Trinity. That is, we come celebrating the fact that the God we worship is one God and three persons.
Now as we celebrate this holy mystery, I want us to turn our attention to God’s Word in order to see what Scripture has to say about the Trinity. What does God tell us about Himself. At the same time, I also want us to see something of the necessity, vital importance, and centrality of the Trinity to every aspect of salvation and life.
I. God is Triune– As we begin our study of this holy mystery, it is vital to remember that we are not dealing with a theological invention or human theory about God. Rather, we are dealing with God’s concrete self-revelation of Himself. Trinity is who God tells us He is in both the Old and New Testament (what the Old introduces, the New clarifies and expounds FN#1).
Isaiah 48:16 “Come near to Me, listen to this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
B] Next, it is vital to note that the Trinity is not just taught by Scripture, it is taught at every key point and in reference to every major doctrine of Scripture. The Trinity is at the very heart of Scripture. Take for example:
Creation: The Father created through the Son as the Spirit hovered over creation applying and insuring the work (Gen 1:2/Gen 1:26/Jn 1:3)
Old Testament: the entire Old Testament is about the Father’s promise to send the Son through a people with whom His Spirit/Presence dwells (Isa 63:11/Ps 2:1-12/Jn 5:46/Lk 22:27,44)
Incarnation: The Father so loved the world that He sent the Son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
Crucifixion: The Father reconciled us to Himself by way of the Son, who offered Himself through the eternal Spirit (II Cor 5:18-19/Heb 9:14)
The Christian Walk: Every aspect of the believer’s new life is attributed to each member of the Trinity (Eph 2:18/2 Cor 1:21-22/1 Pet 1:1-2). Take for example prayer– we pray to the Father, through the Son, assisted by the Spirit (Eph 2:18).
Reading your Bible– the Son reveals the Father and that revelation is preserved in Scripture by the Spirit (John 16:13-15/II Peter 1:21-22).
Bottom Line: every verse, passage, and promise of the Bible is what it is because God is triune. Deny the Trinity and not one verse, passage, or promise of Scripture is true. The Trinity then far from being peripheral is at the very heart of Scripture.
So far we have seen that the Bible teaches the Trinity
Now I want us to look at what the Bible teaches about the Trinity
II. The Doctrine of the Trinity– when we take all that Scripture says about the Trinity we may summarize it as follows:
God is one Being and three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
The doctrine of the Trinity maintains 5 vital points:
(1) God is one– There are not three gods but rather there is one God who is three persons (c.f. Mark 12:29).
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! FN#2
(2) There are three distinct persons in the Godhead– That is, the names “Father, Son, and Spirit” do not describe different modes or aspects of God. They name the three distinct members of the Godhead. Notice then, throughout Scripture, we see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit acting and interacting in clear distinction from one another at the same time.
Matthew 3:16 And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (also Gen 1:26, Ps 110:1, Isa 48:16, Dan 7:13-14, John 15:26)
(3) Each member of the Trinity is fully God and is in full possession of the divine nature– The divine nature is not divided up among the persons of the Godhead like a pie. Rather, the whole of the divine nature, power, and attributes belongs fully and completely to each member of the Trinity. Therefore, each member of the Trinity is equal to the other members in deity, power, and glory. Likewise, each is equally worthy of our worship and praise.
Colossians 2:9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (What we say of the Lord we say of the Spirit) (also: Eph 4:6; John 1:1; 10:30; 14:9; 16:15; II Cor 3:15-18).
(4) The members of the Trinity are equally ultimate– That is, God the Father did not cause/create the Son nor did the Father and Son cause/create the Spirit. Rather, each person of the Godhead is of Himself fully and eternally God.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Hebrews 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God,
Importance: It is vital to note that whenever Scripture speaks of the Son as begotten or the Spirit as proceeding forth from the Father and the Son, it is always in regards to their role in the work of the Godhead- and not their origin or being.
(5) There is a working relationship between the members of the Trinity– thus while Scripture teaches that every work of God is a work of the entire Trinity, (Titus 1:2; I Tim 2:3) it attributes certain aspects of these works more particularly to specific persons of the Trinity. Thus, the Father plans, the Son accomplishes, and the Spirit applies. (Ephesians 1:11/2 Corinthians 5:18-19/1 Peter 1:1-2)
III. How do I respond?
Mark 12:30 YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH. ‘ FN#3
Footnotes
1] In fact we can go so far as to say that there is nothing in the New Testament that is not first introduced in the Old Testament (if you don’t hear it in the Old it is not in the New). Therefore, if you see it in the New it was first established in the Old. Likewise, what the Old Testament introduces is exclusively what the New Testament sets about to fulfill. Thus, there is exact and comprehensive agreement in the progressive self-revelation that God has given us in the Old and New Testaments. There is nothing in the New that is not first introduced by the Old; and there is nothing introduced by the Old that is left out in the New (i.e. that does not find its fulfillment in the New).
2] When we step back and take in the whole witness of Scripture, what we find is that the picture of God the Old Testament provides is identical to the picture of God given and elaborated upon in the New Testament. Notice then, in the Old Testament:
· God is enthroned in heaven reigning far above all creation.
· His Word/voice (His logos) is constantly heard making God known from within creation (for example: the creation account itself, Mt Sinai, calling to Samuel when he was a boy, the burning bush, and etc.)
· Finally, the Spirit of God fills, leads, instructs, equips, and strengthens God’s Old Testament people (cloud by day, the prophets, Samson)
In other words, the description of God in the Old Testament is the very same description of God assumed by the New Testament and expounded therein.
3] Far from being a peripheral or esoteric teaching, the Trinity is at the very heart of Scripture and at the very heart of your Christian walk.
· There is nothing you know about God that is not a knowledge of the Trinity
· There is no disclosure of God that is not a disclosure of the Trinity
· There is no encounter with God, that is not an encounter with the whole of the Trinity
· Our walk and fellowship with God is a walk and fellowship with the entire Trinity
· When we pray, our prayers are attended by the whole of the Trinity
· Every verse and passage of Scripture reveals God as He is, which is Triune
· Our personal relationship with Jesus, is a personal relationship with the whole of the Godhead with whom Christ has reconciled us
· Being filled with the Spirit is being filled with the Father and Son through the Spirit (John 14:23)
In the end, whenever we are confronted with God (be it in our walk, prayer, or His Word) we encounter the whole of the Trinity. As such, the Trinity is central to every aspect of the Christian life and thought.