THE PASTOR’S POINTS
sermon ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
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Feb 23, 1992
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7For there are three that bear record in heaven,
the Father,
the Word,
and the Holy Ghost:
and these three are one.
Christianity is uniquely distinctive. Nowhere is our faith more unique than in the doctrine of the trinity. There is no parallel, beyond obvious superficiality, in any other religion, literature, or philosophy. The doctrine of the triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit being one, yet three) is also controversial. For one, our text verse is not even included in the oldest manuscripts. It is thought by some critics to be a marginal note of explanation that some early scribe may have included for clarity’s sake. Immediately we say, "Why? Why would a mere manuscript copier arbitrarily ’throw-in’ someone’s commentary as if it were part of the original word?" The answer to that is lost to the ages; save for the speculation that may ring within each of us - This is a controversial doctrine, because it is also a confusing concept. Look within yourself; ask if you really understand how God can be three, yet one. Then, be gentle with the ones who preserved God’s Word for us down through the ages.
One thing is certain...We can provide less answers to the idle questions than is satisfactory to most idle speculators. It’s like the response the Census taker got as he was knocking on doors in West Texas. The guy explained to one lady what the census was all about. He said, "Ma’am, every ten years the federal government tries to find out how many men, women and children live in the United States." The lady said, "You came to the wrong house, mister; I sure don’t know!"
While we can’t answer everything you always wanted to know about the trinity, the Word of God offers the explanation to the VITAL QUESTIONS:
WHAT IS THE REALITY?
What does the trinity mean? The "Baptist Faith and Message" indicates: "The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being." That is a short statement which gives little relief. One writer describes the "oneness" and "threeness" of God as a polarity, where the two concepts have to be held in relationship to each other, like the positive and negative terminals of a battery.
Throughout church history there have been many so-called theologians who have attempted to take what is the "secret thing" of God, and attempt to unfold it as a human, or finite concept.
FALSE DOCTRINES
The Sabelians saw God with a "triadic nature;" He was a single God, but only existed in certain modes - First He is the Father, then becomes Jesus, then the Holy Spirit. This denies a permanent distinctiveness.
The Docetists understood Jesus to be only an appearance of God, without a real body.
The Ebonites saw Jesus as an ordinary man who was indwelt with God at His baptism.
The tri-theists saw the Godhead as three distinct, separate, but equal gods.
The problem with all of these is that there is a grain of truth in each. It is like the three blind men who were placed in a room with an elephant. When taken from the room they were asked to describe the beast. One described the elephant as a wall; another as a tree trunk, while the third pictured him as a snakelike rope with a broom’s head at one end. The trouble with taking one aspect of God’s nature, and setting your doctrinal compass, is that you either go off into dangerously erroneous conclusions, or settle for an incomplete picture.
GENUINE DOCTRINES call for comprehensive study of what God has said about Himself. We must see a living God, if we are to have a true picture. The best place to begin is in the place of beginnings.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created…
The word "God" is the Hebrew "Elohim." The Hebrew language has a quantitative way of expressing singular, dual, or multiple. "God" is indicated as "more than two," while "created," (the next word), is singular; more than two, doing a singular act of creation.
Matthew 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Jesus instructed us to baptize in the "name" (singular) of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost (multiple). In Jesus’ culture, a name was more than a handle to call someone to the dinner table - it was an identity, a nature. A singular name indicates a singular nature.
John 8:58
58Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Jesus clearly stated His divine origin, including the eternality connected with the Father. It was, in fact, this claim which drove the religious leaders to have Jesus killed (cp. John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.).
YOUR DOCTRINE
What do you believe about the trinity? Well, regardless of your (and my) thoughts, we will not change God’s way or nature. He is God, and He will be what He is. But one thing further is worth mentioning - we were never asked to understand His nature, or to define it! The sum total of our responsibility is to worship and love God. Whatever your innermost thoughts about the triune God, the most contemporary step you can take is still the leap of faith into His arms. It’s like God has asked you what time it is; don’t try to write a manual on building clocks, just know what time it is!
Another VITAL QUESTION
WHAT IS THE RELEVANCE?
It’s not enough to know what the trinity means; I need to know what it means to me. What is the practical relevance? How do I apply it to my life? Everyone has a basic yearning to know, "Who is God? What is He like? And what does he think of me?"
GOD UNDERSTANDS & CARES FOR ME.
Hebrews 1:1,2
1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Through a revelation of grace God gave us what we could understand through Jesus. God is pure and infinite; we are sinful and finite. The undiluted truth is that apart from God leaving heaven for a bed of straw in an obscure Judean town, born to a scared teenage unwed mother; living a perfectly sinless life; and being unfairly, unjustly, unceremoniously executed in our place....apart from the intervention in time and space of a God who knew our need, and cared enough to do something about it, we could only guess at it all.
William Barclay said, "What Jesus did was to open a window in time that we might see the eternal and unchanging love of God." The relevance is that I KNOW God cares!
I KNOW GOD PERSONALLY.
John 1:1, 14 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
1John 1:1-4
1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
More than giving us a picture for our understanding, God gave us what we needed, a Savior! Knowing a far-off God through His creation is too abstract for me. It leaves me cold and unsure of the love of God. Had Jesus never come in the flesh, to shed his blood for my sins, I would never have known that God didn’t just create this old world, wind it up, toss it out in space, and leave us on our own. But from the view of the cross of Calvary, I can see one hand stretched-up towards the heavens, holding on to the Father; I can see the other hand stretched-downward toward this poor lost sinner of a man; and I can sense the untold power of the Holy Spirit of God coursing through the transaction. God is in view!
In a brief, personal encounter with God in Christ, there is a permanent relationship built with the God of the universe. He knows me...I know him. We are one! Beloved, that’s what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
One of the great questions of all time was asked by the small boy whose father took him into the big city for the first time. They saw all sorts of things he’d never even dreamed of. When they got into an elevator, and it shot up 30 stories, he grabbed his Daddy’s hand and asked, "Daddy, does God know we’re coming?" The questions of the trinity are less important than the answer you give to the question, "Does God know YOU are coming? He will; if you’ve asked Him to save you a place, He will!
If you’ve asked, then we can enjoy the benediction together:
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen" 2Co 13:14
If you haven’t asked, go ahead, ask; He’s waiting. DON’T BE AFRAID...DO IT!
