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.
The first passage we want to look at today is 1 Cor. 2:2-5; “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Here Paul tells us the church at Corinth that is main goal is to preach Jesus Christ. He says that he decided to know nothing when he was with them except Jesus Christ. He goes on to say that while he was with them his own weakness was seen by them. He tells them that his preaching was such as they were in awe of his speaking abilities or wisdom, but that his preaching was a demonstration of the Holy Spirit and His power. This was done he states so that their faith would not be in Paul or his ability, but in the power of God.
So in the passage we see a reference to the Son, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father. As I have stated about other passages, we don’t have a direct statement regarding the Trinity in this passage, but does not this power make the most sense if we look at it in the light of the Trinity. Paul preaching the Son of God, through the Power of the Holy Spirit of God, so that men may have their faith in God.
The next passage I want us to look at is 1 Cor. 6:9-11; “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
In this passage Paul writes to the saints in Corinth telling that the unrighteous have no place in God’s kingdom. He warns them about being deceived then produces a list of what unrighteousness looks like. Those who practice these things demonstrate that they are indeed unrighteous and will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Notice he states, “such were some of you”. This is the lifestyle that many of the Corinthian saints practiced, but that is not what they were living now. Now they had been washed, that is to say forgiven of their sin, they were being sanctified, that is in the process of striving to living godly lives. They had been justified in the name of, or by the authority of Jesus Christ, AND by the Spirit of our God.
Charles Hodges states concerning this verse “The believers were indebted for the great change which they had experienced; for their washing, sanctification, and justification, to Christ and to the Holy Ghost”
The word of God is clear only God can forgive, only God can make us Holy, only God can justify us, that is make us right in His sight. A created creature cannot to this, an impersonal force cannot this. If the Bible is true in only God can do this, then we again see a declaration of the Trinity in the NT.
Next verse I want us to look at is 1 Cor. 12:4-6; “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”
This is the beginning of the section of 1 Cor. where Paul talks about the gifts of the Spirit. He states that no one speaking in or by the Spirit of God, that is speaking under the influence of God’s spirit will ever say that Jesus is accursed. On the positive side, Paul states that the only way you can say that Jesus is Lord is by the Holy Spirit. The word Lord is the same Greek word used of God in the Greek version of the OT, the version Jesus and His followers would be familiar with. So what the Word of God is saying here is that to say that Jesus is Lord is to acknowledge that He is indeed God manifested in the flesh and the profession of that truth only comes through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.
Paul then goes on to say that these gifts have different aspects, we have gifts, services, and activities, but there is unity of where they come from, The Holy Spirit, Jesus our Lord, and God the Father. There is a lot more we can say about this passage, but it is clear to be that if you hold to the Spirit as being just an impersonal force, or if you hold to Jesus as being anything less God the Son, this passage really does not make that must sense.
Again I ask you to think about this passage in light of a Trinitarians writing a fellow Trinitarian, then it makes perfect sense.
Next passage to look at 2 Cor. 1:21-22; “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
This comes at the beginning of Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth. Notice what is said. It is God, that is God the Father, who establishes all Christian. Paul states “us with you”. He establishes that is makes us firm, or able to stand, in Christ. God has further anointed us, and places His seal on is.
Now a seal would be a symbol of ownership. God place His seal of ownership on us, that seal which is the Spirit. Which God has given in our hearts as guarantee. That is a guarantee of eternal life and the fact that God will never leave us nor forsake us.
Once again we see all persons of the trinity in the same sentence. And once again I would ask that you look at this light of person who believes in the Trinity and knows he is writing to those who believe in the Trinity, because if you look at this any other way it just does not fit.
We are established in Christ. Is this passage saying God establishes us in a created being? Or is it more Biblical to say that God establishes us in His own power? I believe the latter.
How can an impersonal force be our seal? A force cannot be our seal. A force would be something that is at work in us, not something placed upon us. How can an impersonal force, be our guarantee? The definition of the word “guarantee” here would preclude it from being a force.
Moving now to the next passage I want to look at. This passage I believe is very clearly a passage that speaks of the Trinity. 2 Cor. 13:14;
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Here are the closing words of Paul in his 2nd letter to the Church at Corinth. The only way to understand this verse is see the Trinity in it, for if you don’t it does not make sense.
Paul writes of his desire for the grace of favor of the Lord Jesus Christ to be with them. Notice the full title of Jesus, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! He desire for God’s love to be with them, and then the fellowship with Holy Spirit to be with as well.
Would Paul be saying that he wants the grace of a created being to with them? The grace of Michael the arch angel be with you? How could the fellowship of an impersonal force be upon someone? You can’t have fellowship with electricity. When you think this passage through the only way it makes sense as if you look at through the lens of one person who believes in the trinity, writing to another person who believes in the Trinity.
Another, point of interest with this verse is just as with Roman. 15:16, we see that the names, Lord Jesus Christ, God, and Holy Spirit are totally interchangeable.
I can also say, “The grace of the God and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Or “The grace of the Holy Spirit and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the God be with you all.”
Or “The grace of the God and the love of the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”
They all make sense because each person, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, is deity, is God.
Next passage, Eph. 2:18; “For through him (that is Jesus Christ) we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”
The context of this verse is that Paul is talking about the fact that there are no Jews or Gentiles in the Church of Christ. We are one body in Christ. When Paul states, “we both” is referring to Jew and Gentile.
He states that it is through Jesus Christ, we have access, that is to say we can now approach the Father, and we do that in the Holy Spirit. Once more we have Paul mentioning the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the same sentence and tying them together in such a way that would indicate to us that each one is deity. Paul brings out a unity between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And again this is the type of language that you would expect to find when you have a Trinitarian writing to other Trinitarians.
The next verse I want us to look at is 1 Thess. 1:3-5; “remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,”
These are the opening words of Paul to the church at Thessalonica. Paul speaks of how these saints are remember before God the Father. Notice what they are remembered for, the work of faith in Christ, their labor of love in Christ, and steadfastness in hope in Christ. He states that the gospel came to them in word and also in power and in the Holy Spirit. The saints in Thessalonica became imitators of the Lord Jesus, for they receive the word God, with affliction and with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit.
Once more we see Paul speaking about this unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit at work in the life of the believer. He points to all three as playing a part in the salvation and sanctification of the believer. To insist that Paul is speaking about a created being doing these things simply does not fit the context or the clear teaching of God’s word elsewhere.
How can an impersonal force have joy? An impersonal force can give us joy at using that force, but it does not have a joy in and of itself. If the Holy Spirit were no more then an impersonal force than Paul should have said, Joy from the Holy Spirit, not joy OF the Holy Spirit.
And I repeat myself, this is the type of language that you would expect to find when you have a Trinitarian writing to other Trinitarians.
Another example from Paul’s writing to the Thessalonians, this time 2 Thess. 2:13; “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”
Once more Paul ties in this unity between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with their work in the believer. He states here that we are beloved by the Lord, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. We are beloved because it was God who chose us for salvation, through the sanctification by the Holy Spirit, and through our belief, or our faith in the gospel.
Another example of the Word of God making this connection between the persons of the Godhead in the salvation and sanctification of the believer.
One last passage, Jude 1:20-21; “But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”
I give this example so that we can see that it is just not Paul that makes these connection with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, here we see Jude doing the same thing. He does because he is a Trinitarian writing to other Trinitarians. We are called to pray in the Holy Spirit, keep ourselves in the Love of God, wait for the mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord that lead to eternal life. Once more we see this divine acts crediting to the Father, and also the Son, and also the Holy Spirit.
Today we have looked at several verses, please understand that much more could be said about each one of them. But the point that has been made is that over and over again we see in the NT this connection made by the writers of the NT of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It seems so natural for the writer to present this unity between them.
In looking at these passages I believe we can see 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 closing I also will say that if the writers in fact did not believe in the triune nature of God they certainly had the unintended effect of making Trinitarians out of millions of NT readers. The way they declare the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together over and over and over again, has without doubt had that result.
It is clear to anyone honestly reading the NT that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit each play a role in our salvation, a task in salvation that can only be accomplished by God. For it is God alone who can open your heart to the gospel, and I pray He would do so. May each one of us repent and believe that blessed gospel of Jesus Christ. That Jesus died for our sins, that He rose again on the third day and sits at the right hand of the Father.
LET US PRAY
