June 26, 2016
Morning Worship
Text: Deuteronomy 6:4
Subject: The Inspired Word of God
Title: There is One True God
We have been in our series about how the bible is the inspired Word of God for a few weeks now. If we truly read and understand the bible as inspired, then we must walk away with valuable information that can change our lives.
Today we want to go off on a new tangent from the inspired Word of God. If this is God’s word then we need to see what God then, says about Himself. Who is He? What is His purpose? What does He want from us? And all of questions are answered in the scriptures.
Now the world has many different ideas about who God is. From a secular viewpoint God is one of many ways to get to heaven. Many see God as the author of the chaos that is in the world today. So many equate the creator God with the god of Islam. We worship the same God right? That is what the god of this world would have you believe. But it is not true. And we will talk about that more in coming weeks. The truth is that many people believe in a god of their own creation and expect him to live up to their expectations.
But, there is one key verse in the bible that we should all know.
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV2011)
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
I believe this is God’s word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
I will appropriate it to my life today…
I want to break that verse down and really study what it means so we can get a clearer picture of the God of the bible.
The very first word in that verse is “Hear”…
shama` (shaw-mah') v.
1. to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience…
Do you think that the Lord thought that what He was about to say through Moses was important?
4 Hear, O Israel… this message is intended for all and not just for Moses.
The LORD… Yhovah (yeh-ho-vaw') n/p.
1. (the) self-Existent or Eternal
2. Jehovah, Jewish national name of God
There is no doubt about who it is Moses is speaking of… He is the great I AM. He is the Creator God. He is the Miracle worker. And He is the One who always was and will forever be.
our God… Now I want you to get this… the word translated as “God” here is the Hebrew elohiym (el-o-heem') n-m.
1. gods in the ordinary sense
2. but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God
The LORD our God… This is the plural of the word used for a deity…He is self-existent. He is creator. And He reveals Himself as a God in three persons… Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
the LORD is one! echad (ekh-awd') adj.
1. (properly) united, i.e. one
There is one God. How can God be united with Himself? Because there are three persons in the godhead! We see this expressed in the term “trinity”.
Although the words trinity or persons are never used in the New Testament in reference to God the reality is clearly spoken of many times.
Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…
2 Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV)
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
John 14:16-17 (NKJV)
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Let’s go back to the beginning… Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
Now look at the shift in terms between verses 26 and 27
Genesis 1:27 (NKJV)
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
How do we explain the transition from Us and Our in verse 26 to He created them?
In my mind it is easy to explain. The godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are acting as One God to create man.
There appear to be at least three reasons to believe the doctrine of the trinity.
1. The bible teaches it…
2. The church has always believed it…
3. No other explanation makes any sense…
Someone has said it this way: If you try to explain the Trinity, you will lose your mind. But if you deny it, you will lose your soul.
Denying the doctrine of the trinity denies the God of the bible.
So how do we explain the trinity?
There are many material application that have been used to explain this doctrine, and all of them fall short because they are trying to explain an eternal and supernatural truth with practical and natural applications.
Water can exist as solid, liquid, or steam. That's okay, but usually water only exists in one state at a time. However, there is a physical condition in which water can exist as solid, liquid and steam at the same time—which would be a much better illustration of the Trinity.
One great illustration comes from noted scientist Dr. Henry Morris. He says that the entire universe is trinitarian by design. The universe consists of three things: matter, space, and time. Take away any one of those three and the universe would cease to exist. But each one of those is itself a trinity.
Matter = mass + energy + motion
Space = length + height + breadth
Time = past + present + future
Thus the whole universe witnesses to the character of the God who made it (cf. Psalm 19:1).
It's important to remember that all illustrations fail eventually. They don't "prove" the Trinity, they simply help us understand the concept.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
One God…
Three Persons…
All different yet equal…
The God of Creation:
Genesis 1:1-2 (NIV2011)
1 In the beginning God (elohim – plual) created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
John 1:1-3 (NIV2011)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
God in mankind:
Genesis 1:26 (NIV2011)
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Genesis 2:7 (NIV2011)
7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Breathed = nshamah (nesh-aw-maw') n-f.
1. a puff, i.e. wind, angry or vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect. or (concretely) an animal
What separates mankind from animals? We have the breath of God in us.
So we see that we are created in God’s image not only in a spiritual sense but in a physical sense as well. God is Spirit but in John 1:14 (NIV2011)
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Mankind created in the spiritual and physical image of God.
The trinity in the life of Jesus:
Luke 1:30-32 (NKJV)
30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
Luke 1:34-35 (NKJV)
34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
The trinity revealed at Jesus’ baptism:
Luke 3:21-22 (NKJV)
21 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
The trinity at work in salvation:
The Father: Ephesians 1:3-4 (NKJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love…
The Son: Ephesians 1:5-7 (NKJV)
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…
The Holy Spirit: Ephesians 1:13-14 (NKJV)
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
I could go on and on but for the sake of time I will bring this to an end. There is a time coming when God the Father will send His Son to gather His church and at that time the power and effectiveness of the Holy Spirit working through the body of Christ will be removed and the antichrist will have his day on the earth.
Then 7years later The Son comes back with all the redeemed (those who have the Holy Spirit living in them) and will establish His kingdom on earth that will last 1000 years.
Revelation 21:2-6 (NKJV)
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."
6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
Revelation 22:17 (NKJV)
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
Is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit active in your life?
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
