(Section 1)
THE THIRD PERSON IN THE TRINITY
INTRODUCTION:
“It is because the presence of the Spirit as the indwelling Teacher of every believer is so little known and recognized in the Church, and because, as the result of this, the workings of the Spirit are few and feeble, that there is so much difficulty, and doubt, so much fear and hesitation about the recognition of the witness of the Spirit.” Andrew Murray
“In most Christian churches the Spirit is entirely overlooked. Whether He is present or absent makes no real difference to anyone.” (pg 9) The Holy Spirit and His Gifts J. Oswald Sanders
“It is possible to sit through a year’s sermons without hearing one which specifically honors the Third Person of the Trinity. He has become the displaced member of the Godhead, and the Church has endeavored to compensate for His absence by substituting elaborate machinery and programmes for the dynamic of the Spirit.” (pg 9) The Holy Spirit and His Gifts J. Oswald Sanders
IMPORTANCE:
“It is of the highest importance from the standpoint of worship that we decide whether the Holy Spirit is a divine person worthy to receive our adoration, our faith, and our love, or simply an influence emanating from God, or a power that God imparts to us. If the Holy Spirit is a divine person and we do not act on it, w are robbing a divine being of the love and adoration which are his due.”
“It is of the highest practical importance that we decide whether the Holy Spirit is a power that we in our weakness and ignorance are somehow to get hold of and use or whether the Holy Spirit is a personal being infinitely wise, infinitely holy, infinitely tender, who is to get hold of us and use us. The one conception is heathenish, the other Christian. The one conception leads to self-humiliation, self-emptying, and self-renunciation; the other conception leads to self-exaltation.”
“It is of the highest experiential importance that we know the Holy Spirit as a person. Many can testify to the blessing that came into their lives when they came to know the Holy Spirit not merely as a gracious influence (emanating, it is true, from God), but as an ever-present loving friend and helper.”
What The Bible Teaches by R. A. Torrey
I. THE TRINITY
A. It is a mystery.
It goes beyond the limits of our understanding, but it is forced on us by the facts of God’s word. I cannot and will not pretend to understand how this works.
I cannot and will not prove anything. John Wesley said, “Bring me a worm that
can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend
the Triune God.”
Jeff Carter at sermoncentral.com Sermon: “Trinity”
1. The problem with the doctrine of the trinity is that there is no one place to look for
it in the Bible. The Trinity is not an explicit teaching of the Bible. In fact the
words Trinity or Triunity are not even used in the Bible. These words were
applied by later theologians in an attempt to understand this idea of a
three in-one Godhead.Jeff Carter at sermoncentral.com
2. Despite the fact that the idea of the Trinity is not explicit or fully and clearly
expressed, It is not an idea created by theologians to gratuitously complicate an otherwise simple faith. The idea of the trinity is implicit throughout the scriptures from the very beginning of Genesis to the final glorious end of Revelation.
Jeff Carter at sermoncentral.com
B. Trinity. This means the union of three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in
one (unified) Godhead or divinity, so that all three Persons are one in unity and
eternal substance, but three separate and distinct Persons as to individuality.
(pg 51) God’s Plan For Man Dake
I John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
C. Manifested In Three Persons
1. The word “persons” is somewhat misleading. St. Augustine used it in his writings, though he was unsatisfied with it. He used it, “in order to not remain silent” That
is the word, though not perfect, is better than not saying anything at all.
Jeff Carter at sermoncentral.com
2. There is one God manifested in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost. Inadequate though the word “person” may be, no other term has been
found which so fully expresses the essential distinctions within the Godhead.
As applied to man, the term “person” implies the existence of a separate,
self-conscious human being, distinct from all others. When used of the Godhead,
however, it carries no such significance. There is no idea of three separate
Beings. The Father, the Son, the Spirit are three Persons, but not three separate,
distinct Beings. Each is distinct from the other, but none is separate from the
other in the substratum of existence. (pg 13) The Holy Spirit and His Gifts
J. Oswald Sanders
3. Saying that there are three persons in the Godhead leads very easily to the idea that there are three gods who sometimes relate, but only in a loose association. This is sometimes called Tri-theism (three gods) or Polytheism. (many gods as - opposed to monotheism, one god) This is the charge that Jews and Muslims bring against Christians – that we are worshipping three gods instead of the One beside whom there can be no other. But we do not worship three gods who work together
as one. We worship only one God. The one God who is consistently revealed
Through the scriptures as the One and the Only One.
Jeff Carter at sermoncentral.com
D. One God
1. In Hebrew, the singular word for God is El, the dual tense is Elah, and to indicate
Three or more the word Elohim is used. Elohim is the word translated "God" in
Genesis 1:1. The Hebrew word Elohim introduces us to the triune God in the first verse in the Bible.
2. Within the New Testament, God the Father is affirmed as The One God, and Jesus Christ is affirmed as the One God, as is the Holy Spirit affirmed as the One God. Jeff Carter at sermoncentral.com
3. God is three in one without any contradiction, without any conflict or disagreement. God is three in one without any rift or division. Jeff Carter @ sermoncentral.com
4. Every action of God is the action of the Three. No one person of the Trinity acts independently of or in isolation from the others. The action of each is the action of all; the action of all is the action of each. Jeff Carter at sermoncentral.com
