The Trinity 11 - The Trinity In The Nt 2 Series

The Trinity 11 - The Trinity in the NT 2

1/20/13

I thought I would do a little show and tell today. I brought in this little fellow. (Picture on screen). This little guy is an ancient idol. This was made in Egypt around 664-525 BC. It is little statue of the Egyptian god Bes. He is portrayed as an ugly fat bearded dwarf. Often times with his tongue stuck out and holding a rattle. He is unusual as far Egyptian god’s go because he is always shown in full face as opposed to profile, which is the usual way in which Egyptian gods are presented.

Bes was very popular among the common people of ancient Egypt. He was looked as a protecting god of woman and children, with an emphasis on child birth.

It was supposed that during childbirth Bes would dance around the room shaking his rattle and yelling to ward off evil spirit that might harm the child. It was also thought that after the birth he would hang around the child and entertain the child. Thus if the child smile or laughed for no apparent reason is was believe that Bes was in the room. It was also though that the Bes was so ugly that even statues of him would scare off evil spirits, thus many houses would have a statue of him by the door to keep guard.

Though there were no official temples to Bes in Egyptian society, many households had shrines to him. This would almost certainly be why this little fellow was made.

Why do I share that information with you? I am sure we can safely say that no one in modern times worships this little fellow anymore. I have never seen a statue of Bes by anyone’s door. I have never seen a statue of Bes while visiting someone who has just had a baby. Most folks simply do not believe in idols anymore… or do they?

Let me say this, while people may not look to a stone for protection now a days, the one they look for their protection, the god they look to and many pray to, is just a powerful as Bes, and that is no power at all. For many folks have a god that has been created in their own minds, a god that is nothing more then an idol.

My point is, is that if the god we worship, if the god we look to for protection, for blessings, if it is not the God as revealed in Scripture, it is a false god, an idol, it just like this little fellow here. Powerless to help, deaf to our prayers, and blind to our needs.

That is why I believe that this study of the Triune nature of God is so important. We must take God as He has revealed Himself, not as we would like Him to be. We must look to how God has revealed Himself, lest we fall into idolatry. Understanding that idolatry is the giving to something, be it to a carved rock or a mental imagine, but giving to something that which belongs exclusively to God. Things such as worship, praise, love, etc.

We must be certain that we have a relationship with God of Scripture as He has revealed Himself, and He has revealed Himself, as we have been studying, as a Trinity. That is to say, that “Within the one being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and coeternal persons, namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

I know I have stated this many time, but it must be stressed, as Christians we must have some understanding to the triune nature of God, lest we fall into idolatry.

Last week we began to look at verses in the NT that show the Trinity and I want to continue with looking a several passages today that I believe also show a believe in the triune nature of God.

As pointed out last week we do not have the NT writers making statements such as the Trinity is this… or the trinity like this… The NT is written by Trinitarians for Trinitarians and thus we find the teaching of the Trinity in the NT, in the precise form one would expect it to be if the writers believed it to be true and knew that the recipients of these letters also held to that believe.

As we take a look at the following passages we really need to keep that in mind. In looking at these passages we need to look at them in the light that this would be the natural way for a person who believes in the Trinity, to write another person who believes in the Trinity.

In looking at these passages what I am going to do is give you the passage and briefly comment on that passage, then move to the next one.