I Introduction:
A) Last week we talked about what God was not
1) I told you that he was not one of many gods
2) I told you that he was not a god that, like an actor took on the role of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
3) We discussed a few of the attributes of God that Christ and the Holy Spirit share. They are one in essence but have distinct personalities that complete and compliment God.
(a) Omnipresent – Is present everywhere. There is no place we can go and hide from God.
b) Omnipotent – God is all powerful, all that has been created was created at the hand of all mighty God.
(c) Omniscient - God is all knowing. He knows your joys, your hurts, your pain, your sorrow, your gratitude and greed, your love and your lust.
II It is essential to the perfection of God
A) We believe in the absolute perfection of God.
1) His Works are perfect Deut 32:4
2) His way is perfect 2 Sam 22:31; Psalm 18:30
3) His law is perfect Psalm 19:7; James 1:25
4) His beauty is perfect Psalm 50:2
5) His faithfulness is perfect Isaiah 25:1
6) His peace is perfect Isaiah 26:3
7) His creation was perfect Ezekiel 28:12-15
8) His will is perfect Romans 12:2
9) He is perfect (Christ) Hebrews 7:28
10) His sacrifice was perfect Hebrews 10:10
11) His gifts are perfect James 1:16
12) His love is perfect 1 John 4:8
( a) The Bible says that God himself is love (1 John 4:7,8)
(1) He loves first
(2) He loves most --------à No one or no thing can compare to the love of God
(3) He loves best
B) If the trinity were not true, then before the creation of anything God could not have been love, and thereby would not have been complete or perfect in nature
1) The American Heritage Dictionary defines perfect as
(a) Lacking nothing essential to the whole; complete of its nature or kind
2) The American Heritage Dictionary defines love as:
(a) A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.
(b) A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; beloved. Often used as a term of endearment.
(1) God would not have been complete until he created something that could have been the object of his affection
(2) Love is an impossible act to a solitary being
(C) The fact that God is one, yet exist in three persons helps us to understand how God could be love. He idd not become love; He always was love because he could manifest His love toward the other personalities in the Godhead.
III It is essential to God’s revelation of Truth
A) Hebrews 1:1-2 (NIV)
1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
1) Hebrews 1 - Tells us that God has revealed himself to us through His Son. In fact Hebrews 1:3a says, “3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…”
2) John 14:9 – Jesus says, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
3) John 1:1,3,14 - 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
4) We see through the scriptures that Jesus is the perfect representation of God, in fact he is God clothed in flesh.
B) If the trinity of God were not true, then Christ would not be God and could not perfectly know God or reveal God.
1) The Bible says that we see but a poor reflection, or as the New living translation says, “imperfectly as in a poor mirror.” Now our knowledge of God and understanding of His infinite divine, perfect character is only seen in part. If Christ were not God then he too would only have a limited knowledge of Who God is.
2) Christianity claims to be the only true religion because Christ is the only true revelation of God. But if He is not God then:
(a) We can not be sure of his revelation of God
(b) The WORD OF GOD would become void because it would be lying about who Christ is and would misrepresent God because God would not misrepresent himself.
(c) Jesus being a mere man would have brought Christianity down to the same level as every other religion in the world, each having it’s portion of truth, but also having it’s portion of error.
C) The same would be true of the Holy Spirit as well.
1) Jesus said that he had many things that he wanted to share with the disciples, but they were not ready to receive them.
(a) John 16:12 (NIV) 12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.
(b) John 16:13-15 (NIV)
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
2) If the Holy Spirit were not God, then he would not be able to guide us into all truth
(a) The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3:6 that the Church of the living God is the “Pillar” and “foundation” of truth. That is only possible if Jesus is truly “the way, the truth, and the life” and that The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth that guides us into all truth.
IV It is essential to redemption
A) Between God and the best man on earth there is an infinite rift caused by sin. We are all born into sin and the bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
1) The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23)
(a) Not just physical death but eternal death (which means separation from God for eternity)
B) We believe Jesus is the bridge that can span the distance between God and man.
1) Because Jesus has two distinct natures – that of God and man – He is the only one that could bridge the infinite gap between God and man.
2) We believe that Jesus came to pay the penalty for sin for everyone once for all (Romans 6:10)
3) He cam as our mediator
(a) 1 Timothy 2:5 (NIV)
5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
C) If Christ were not God then he would have fallen just as short of the glory of God as everyone else. He would be a mere man and face the same penalty of death because he to would have been born into sin just as you and I have been.
1) Jesus would not have been able to bring us any closer to God then he was.
D) Also if the Holy Spirit is not God in essence then there is no way that we can be made holy and righteous and be drawn all the way to God.
1) Only a Holy God Can make sinful man Holy once again
E)
V Conclusion
A) The many doctrines that we hold to and cherish are like a beautiful gold beaded necklace that adorns the bride of Christ. These doctrines held together by the doctrine of the trinity.
1) If we destroy or take away from this doctrine everything else falls away also.
2) The hope of salvation is lost – the desire to be with our creator is an impossible reality.
B) I know what a sinful man I am and I know that there is no other man on the face of this earth that can lift me high enough to reach the living God
1) I do know however that there is one man that is also God. He knows me, he feels the same things that I feel, He struggled with the same things that I struggle with. The eternity of my soul does not rest in a mere man, but with a man that is one with and equal to the Father and the spirit which is able to cause a rebirth in me spiritually will regenerate me from a life and nature of sin to be called a child of God not by natural decent, nor of human decision – but born of God
