READ: Matthew 3:13-17
We come this morning, in our series on “What We Believe”, to the great Christian doctrine of THE TRINITY. Last week I mentioned that this would be our next focus of consideration as we continue to look at the very core of Christianity - the God that we serve. You see, at it’s heart the Christian religion is NOT about a code of practise; a set of beliefs or ethics. At its heart Christianity is about the only true God, Creator of all things, who by sovereign grace has determined to reveal Himself to a rebellious mankind, to provide for man’s salvation. A God who desires man to be in relationship with Him. Our faith, then, does not revolve around us - it is centred on God. And so HE is the necessary starting point in any discussion about what Christians believe.
Now, when we mention this doctrine of THE TRINITY, I am aware that many people get quite nervous. Someone here today might even say: “Pastor, I believe in the Trinity. I believe the Bible teaches it. Please let that be enough because I’m afraid that your sermon this morning is going to go right over my head! No-one has been able to explain it to me yet. I believe it, but I don’t understand it”.
Let me encourage you to stay with me. To listen carefully for the next little while. The fact is that there IS great mystery about the tri-unity of God. There is definitely NO CONTRADICTION in the doctrine of the Trinity, but it IS most certainly a paradox - a mystery. LORRAINE BOETTNER was all too right when he said that this doctrine “bristles with difficulty”.
But I ask you this, should we expect anything less when we are dealing with Almighty God? The Holy One whose ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours. Let me challenge you with this thought . . . I personally would not be able to believe that a being was indeed God if I could contain a complete understanding of that being in my limited mortal mind!
Have you ever had a J.W. talk to you about the Trinity? Their standard line is to attempt to “reason” with you. They say: “Come on. The Trinity doesn’t make sense. It’s illogical. You don’t even understand it!” (To which my standard response is: “Answer me this. Do you understand your own self? Where does a thought come from? What is the relation between your body, soul and spirit? If we don not even understand our own selves, how arrogant is it to think that we should be able to understand everything about Almighty God!”)
There is no contradiction in the doctrine of the Trinity. No law of logic is violated; that can be shown. But still there is a great mystery here - as there is with many things concerning God.
But having said that, while full comprehension may elude us, and “we see through a glass, darkly”, - there IS mystery - the fact remains that there IS a lot that we can say - that the Word of God plainly reveals - that we can grasp . . . with God’s help.
Someone else might raise the challenge: “But does it really matter? What relevance does knowing about the Trinity have for my life today?!”
Folks, the doctrine of the Trinity is ALL-relevant if you are a Christian. It is central to our faith. Christianity rises or falls on this doctrine. Because if there is not Trinity, Christianity crumbles. It crumbles for many reasons, but consider this one alone: if the doctrine of the Trinity is not true, then Jesus is not God, therefore He was created (as the cults say), therefore He is not eternal. Now the Book of Hebrews makes it very clear that for our sin to be atoned for an eternal sacrifice had to be found, an eternal High Priest, an eternal mediator. If Jesus be not God, then no such sacrifice, no such High Priest, no such Mediator has been found - we are still waiting, lost in our sins. BUT HALLELUJAH, the Trinity IS true; Jesus IS God, and HEBREWS 9:12 assures me that Eternal Redemption has been obtained in Christ. I AM SAVED - and all the glory belongs to our Triune God.
Before the end of this message I trust I’ll have shown you some other very practical implications of the doctrine of the Trinity that will help you in your Christians walk today.
And, by the way, please don’t be stumbled by the fact that the actual word “TRINITY” does not appear anywhere in the Bible. The word “Trinity” doesn’t appear in Scripture, but the teaching most certainly does. “Trinity” is a word the Church uses to describe teaching about God that is clearly revealed from Genesis to Revelation. It’s a Biblical doctrine.
All right, well we need to state the doctrine. We need to phrase what the Church believes about the Trinity of God. Fortunately for us, it’s already been done - both concisely and also in great detail, and on many historic occasions.
You see, the J.W.’s make the accusation that the doctrine of the Trinity is not Biblical, and that it didn’t actually appear until the 4th century A.D. (After all the Apostles were dead.) That is simply NOT TRUE. The Trinity is quite clearly taught by the apostles in the New Testament, and it’s what the Church has ALWAYS believed. However, the Church had no creed or formulated statement of this part of its teaching until the need arose for it. In the 3rd and 4th centuries in particular, heretics came along who began to teach something else - contrary to sound doctrine. This prompted the Church to reply to their heresies by formulating creeds and statements to carefully express what the Church had always believed.
What J.W.’s teach today is basically the heresy of a man by the name of Arius - regurgitated. The matter of the Arian heresy was settled at the Council of Nicea way back in the 4th century. AND HERE’S WHAT THE CHURCH SAID (summarizing the Nicene Creed, which is echoed and upheld in every other statement the Church has made on the subject): THE CHURCH BELIEVES THAT GOD IS “ONE IN ESSENCE, AND THREE IN PERSON”. God is only One Being, but within the Being of God the Bible teaches that there are three distinct Persons.
Let’s look at that for a minute. God is ONE in essence (or “substance”) - One Being. The Word of God is absolutely emphatic about that. One of the most KEY verses of the Bible - a verse held as centrally sacred by the Jews - is DEUTERONOMY 6:4. The Jews call it “The Shema”: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One!”
Based on that verse, and others like it, Judaism and Christianity are both thoroughly committed to belief in One God, and One God alone. And THAT sets us apart from most of the religions of the world. Other religions worship multiple gods. Hinduism, for example, recognises literally thousands of deities.
The first commandment God gave to Moses was: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (EXODUS 20:3).
That doesn’t mean “before Me” like “ahead of Me”. God wasn’t just saying He had to be the most important God on their list. “Before Me” literally means “before My Presence”. You are not even to entertain other gods at all because there are no other real gods. There is only One God. We believe in One God, and One God alone!
But, within that One God, in that One Supreme Being, there are three distinct Persons.
It’s revealed from the opening chapter of the Bible. GENESIS 1:26 - “Then God said: ‘Let US make man in OUR image, according to OUR likeness.’” NOTE: ONE image, ONE likeness (SINGULAR), but the PLURAL is also used - “Let US make man in OUR image, according to OUR likeness”. God isn’t conversing with angels there; we’re NOT made in the image of angels! We are created in the image of One God. What you have right there is a revelation of the communion/the fellowship of the Godhead at Creation: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The three Persons of the one Eternal Godhead.
And here is the very crux of the Doctrine of the Trinity - what Christians MUST know and believe:
THE FATHER IS GOD;
THE SON IS GOD;
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD.
Let me take a minute to prove that the New Testament teaches these things; that it was the Apostles’ doctrine. Firstly:
1. THE FATHER IS GOD.
This point is rarely ever debated or denied. Even the cults subscribe to this. There are many references we could cite, but let this one suffice:
“For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and One Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.” (1 CORINTHIANS 8:5-6)
(You might also see: Rom. 1:7; John 6:27, 20:17; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 4:6; 1 Pet. 1:2; and so on.)
We call the Father the first Person of the Godhead. The Father is God. But then secondly:
2. THE SON IS GOD.
THIS truth has been the real battle-ground throughout history. It’s the place where all the CULTS FALL. The deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is NOT just a good man; NOT just a prophet; NOT even just a created “god”. Our Lord Jesus is Almighty God. Coequal and co-eternal with the Father. The second Person of the Trinity.
JOHN 1:1 says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS GOD.” And the cults can do all the translation gymnastics they want to, NO reputable Greek scholar will translate this verse to read any other way than that John is declaring Jesus to be absolutely GOD.
Later in the same gospel, John 20:28, we read of Thomas falling down at Jesus’ feet and calling Him, “My Lord and My God!” Jesus didn’t rebuke him (as even an angel would) - Jesus accepted his worship as thoroughly right and proper. Why? Because He IS Lord and God.
Jesus Himself claimed to be God. You can look some occasions up for yourself: JOHN 5:16-23, 8:58-59.
In Romans 9:5, Paul refers to Jesus as being “over all, the eternally blessed God”.
Again in Colossians 2:9, he says: “For in Him [Jesus] dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power.”
And the list of such references goes on and on. Folks, if you want to assert that the New Testament does not teach Jesus is God, then you’ll have to tear out every second page!
Jesus is God! The second Person of the Triune Godhead. Thirdly, make no mistake about it - don’t hesitate to affirm it:
3. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD.
He is NOT a “force”. He’s NOT an “it”. He is the third Person of the Trinity. God the Holy Spirit.
Just for one reference, turn over with me to ACTS 5:3-4. [READ and comment.]
There are other references, but we’ll leave it at that for the sake of time this morning.
BUT FIX IT IN YOUR HEART TODAY, and never waver on it:
the Father is God,
Jesus is God,
the Holy Spirit is God.
Three distinct Persons; One Supreme Being. The Triune God.
All right, so on the basis of all that, let me tell you what we must reject as unsound doctrine.
A.) We Reject TRI-THEISM. (A belief in three Gods.)
We do not believe there are three Gods. “The Lord our God is One!” The Godhead is NOT a council of three Gods - the Trinity are one God!
B.) We Reject UNITARIANISM. (The belief that only the Person of the Father is God.)
We cannot accept Unitarianism because it denies the deity of Jesus and the deity of the Holy Spirit. The second and third Persons of the Trinity are absolutely co-equal with the Father.
C.) We Reject something called MODALISM.
Now I mention this one because I think some sincere Christians fall into this error without even realising it is heresy.
Basically, MODALISM says this: there is only One God who manifests Himself at different times in three different Persons (or modes).
Now if you’re not listening carefully, that might sound okay. But here’s what it means (and it’s a view that some Christians unwittingly hold): God has appeared at times as the Father. For instance, it was the voice of the Father that spoke out of the burning bush to Moses. At other times He appears as the Son. For instance, when He came as the Son and lived on earth for thirty-three years. And then at other times He comes in the mode of the Holy Spirit - as He is in the Church today.
Do you see what’s wrong with that? You don’t have three distinct Persons, you have One Person revealing Himself in three different ways. THAT IS NOT WHAT WE BELIEVE.
The three distinct Persons of the Godhead co-exist together at all times. The Father, Son and Spirit are all working right now.
MODALISM is easily shown to be wrong by just one scene out of the Bible:
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS:
The Son is in the water being baptised.
The Holy Spirit descends as a dove.
The Father’s voice sounds from heaven.
All three Persons present at one time.
Let me state it one more time: we believe in One Triune God. “One in essence; yet three in person.”
Now the lessons that we can learn as we consider the Trinity - the practical implications - are many.
When we consider the Trinity we learn that:
GOD IS A GOD OF ORDER.
There is structure in the Godhead. Father, Son and Holy Spirit have complete co-equality, and yet look at how they function together to fulfill the great plan of redemption! The Son is subordinate to the Father. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son.
Some Christians can never submit themselves to another person who has a role or leadership in the church. Some people can’t submit to ANYBODY. That is so UNGODLIKE. We are called to be like Jesus - to imitate Him. Paul says in Philippians 2:
“Let [Jesus’] mindset be in you. He was absolutely co-equal with the Father, but He didn’t ever grasp for that position that is rightly His. Instead He humbled Himself - subordinated Himself to the Father’s will - all the way to the Cross”
Think about it!
When we consider the Trinity we learn that:
WE WERE CREATED WITH THE INNATE NEED FOR FELLOWSHIP.
We are created “in the image of God”. Do you know that God had NEVER been without fellowship? Before He created anything at all; before there was a single angel, or any other being, there was God. All alone? With no-one to commune with? NO! Never! When there was nothing but God, there was always fellowship. The eternal communion of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We’re created in His image. To desire fellowship. To NEED fellowship. I need you, and you need me. And most of all - WE NEED GOD! Think about it.
Finally, when we consider the Trinity we learn something of:
HOW WE OUGHT TO WORSHIP.
It’s right, it’s proper, to give honour and worship to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for they are co-equally God.
It is the good pleasure of the Holy Spirit to glorify the Son, and so He will inspire us in our worship of Jesus. So our normal course will be to lift up the name of Jesus in our singing and our exalting. But it is NOT untoward at all that we should also honour and praise the blessed Holy Spirit.
“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee
Only Thou art holy,
There is none beside Thee,
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.”
AMEN!
I’ve said a lot this morning. I’d encourage you to go over it again. GET THE TAPE. And if you have any questions at all - even if fifty people come - that’s okay. Pastor David’s door is always open!
