INTRODUCTION:
We have been taught since we were children that “1+1+1=3” but what are we to do when “1+1+1=1?”
Someone once asked Daniel Webster, a man who not only wrote the dictionary but was also a committed Christian, “How can a man of your intellect believe in the Trinity?” Webster responded, “I do not pretend fully to understand the arithmetic of heaven now.”
This morning we are again going Back to SCHOOL as we continue to look at the basics of our Christian faith. Today we come to the second “O” of school – One God; Three Persons. Together we want to try to gain a better understanding of an essential yet mysterious doctrine of the Church, the Trinity.
The Trinity, 1+1+1=1. I have found that when faced with things that are hard to understand, it is sometimes easier to look at the solution (in this case “=1”) and then go back and examine the problem (how does 1+1+1=1). So as we look at the Trinity; we will begin with the solution: ONE GOD, and then what some see as the problem: ONE GOD – THREE PERSONS; yes 1+1+1=1!
“The Solution:” ONE GOD
We believe there is ONE TRUE GOD as revealed through the scriptures. (Our belief in ONE GOD is built upon the foundation of ONE SOURCE–The Authority of the Bible. The Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, is God’s revelation of Himself to man.) The Bible clearly states there is only ONE GOD.
• Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV)
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Our God is the ETERNAL, SELF-EXISTENT, I AM. God has further revealed Himself as having always existed without any outside cause or agent bringing Him into being.
• Exodus 3:14 (NIV)
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM.
• Isaiah 43:10 (NIV)
. . . Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
• Deuteronomy 32:39 (MsgB)
Do you see it now? Do you see that I’m the one? Do you see that there’s no other god beside me? I bring death and I give life, I wound and I heal—there is no getting away from or around me!
Our God is the CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. God is the cause or source of everything that exists, and apart from Him nothing would be that is.
• Genesis 1:1 (NIV)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Our God is the SAVIOR Who redeems saves and rescues mankind from sin and its painful consequences.
• Isaiah 43:11 (NIV)
I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.
We have a great God. He is the Lord Almighty, the Creator of All, the eternal I AM, the Self-Sufficient One, our Provider, our Healer, our Savior. There is no other God beside our ONE TRUE GOD.
Now that is a bold statement to say we serve the ONE TRUE GOD. Is God the one and only true God, or is He just another God among many gods?
Throughout history man has tried to answer these two questions: “Does God exist?” and “What is God like?” There have been a lot of different answers to these questions.
1. THE ATHEIST claims there is no god. In other words, no matter what you may say the solution to the god problem is ZERO; no god.
2. THE AGNOSTIC says the answer is unknown. No matter how we approach the problem of god’s existence we can never know with any certainty if god exists, so the solution remains A QUESTION.
3. THE POLYTHEIST believes in many gods; therefore, the solution to the god question must be GREATER THAN ONE.
4. THE PANTHEIST takes god to the extreme and believes everything and everyone is god. For the pantheist the solution to the god problem is INFINITE.
5. THE DEIST believes god must have created the universe, but has abandon man and creation, therefore the solution to the god question CANNOT BE FOUND.
6. THE MONOTHEIST believes in only ONE GOD.
The three most widespread and established religions are each monotheistic. The Christian, Jewish and Islamic religions each believe in only one God. However, this leads to the question which one is THE ONE? Each of these religions say they believe in the “real God,” so either they all serve the “same God,” or only one of these religions have found who God really is and the other two have put their faith in an illegitimate god. All three religions can’t be right and serve different gods because then there would be three rival gods and instead of being monotheistic they would have to be polytheistic.
The gods of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths are not the same god! Many people will say that each of these religions serve the same God. By definition if these gods are the same then they would be identical with no differences; that is what it means to be the same.
ILLUSTRATION: Like the old TV show “What’s My Line” these three gods present themselves to the human race for individuals to select who they believe the real god to be.
Still some would argue that if we did away with the religious labels and simply looked at these gods we would soon see that they are the “same god.” If we just work at it enough we can fit the pieces of the puzzle together and seed that what we initially see as three different gods are really one in the same God.
ILLUSTRATION: A script E, a 3 and an 8 are all similar in shape. If we work out the conflicting differences we could soon discover that they are really the “same.” When properly “understood” and “joined” in the right way they all become the “8” so there are no “differences” just the perception of those who behold it.
However, we can see that these three God’s are not the same when we ask the second question, “What is God like?” While there may be similarities between these three competing gods they are not the same; therefore only one of the three can be the true God.
Neither the Jew nor the Muslim will acknowledge Jesus Christ as God. Therein is everyone’s “problem” with Christianity. We say Jesus is the second person of the Trinity; fully God just as the Father and the Spirit are fully God. One God in Three Persons!
“The Problem:” ONE GOD—THREE PERSONS
This brings us back to what some see as the problem: ONE GOD – THREE PERSONS. How can 1+1+1=1? The Christian believes God has eternally existed as the Trinity: Father Son and Holy Spirit, and all three are equally God. Not three gods, but THREE IN ONE! When speaking of the Trinity we often refer to “THE GODHEAD”—specifically the Godhead is the Father Son and Holy Spirit. This is not three different God, but one God revealed as three persons in perfect unity.
A good illustration of the Trinity comes from world-renowned scientist Dr. Henry Morris. He notes 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 these three parts of the universe is also a trinity or made of three parts.
>> Matter = mass + energy + motion
>> Space = length + height + breadth
>> Time = past + present + future
Thus the whole universe, matter time and space, bare witnesses to the character of the Triune God who made it.
We said we believe in ONE GOD.
• Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV)
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
God is One yet exists as Three persons joined in perfect unity.
• John 10:30 (NIV)
I and the Father are one.
Jesus further expands our understanding of the unity of the Godhead to include the Holy Spirit when He directed His disciples to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19 NIV).
We also believe in ONE GOD who is eternally self-existent. This applies to the Father Son and Holy Spirit.
• John 1:1-2 (NIV)
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.
• Revelation. 22:13 (NIV)
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
• Hebrews 9:14 (NIV)
. . . the eternal Spirit. . .
We believe in ONE GOD the CREATOR of the heavens and the earth. However, our God is not the same god the Jews believe created heaven and earth. In the beginning God created all that exists in the universe; Genesis even shows the Spirit at work in creation “hovering over the waters” (See Genesis 1:2). However, we discover even more about God though what is said when He created man.
• Genesis 1:26 (NIV)
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness."
Notice there is ONE GOD for God is creating man in His IMAGE (singular) and His LIKENESS (also singular). However, God does not say, “I will create man in my image and my likeness.” God says “LET US CREATE man in OUR image, in OUR likeness.” The single God of creation is plural within His being; the God of creation is multiple in His nature but singular in His person.
The New Testament shows us that it is Jesus who is present with God the Father and God the Spirit at creation.
• John 1:3 (NIV)
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
• Colossians 1:16-17 (NIV)
[16] For by him [JESUS] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. [17] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
So you see if you say “God” created the world, but you believe that Jesus was not present and involved in the creation, then you are talking about some other god who is really no god at all. The God of creation is, FATHER SON AND HOLY SPIRIT!
ILLUSTRATION: Augustine, while puzzling over the doctrine of the Trinity, was walking along the beach one day when he observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth pouring water into a little hole. Augustine asked, "What are you doing?" The boy replied, "I’m trying to put the ocean into this hole." Then Augustine realized that he had been trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind. I WANT TO SERVE A GOD BIGGER THAN I AM! I DON’T WANT TO LIMIT GOD BY MY UNDERSTANDING!
Likewise the ONE GOD of Salvation is a Trinity; ONE GOD—THREE PERSONS. Do you remember what Isaiah said regarding the one God who brings us into salvation?
• Isaiah 43:11 (NIV)
I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.
Isaiah even saw how God would bring about this salvation.
• Isaiah 53:3-7 (NIV)
[3] He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [4] Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. [5] But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. [6] We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. [7] He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
The New Testament shows us the completion of our salvation by ONE GOD, but a work that involves ALL THREE PERSONS of the Godhead—Father Son and Holy Spirit.
• 1 Peter 1:2 (NIV)
[You] have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood.
Let’s take a moment and dissect this verse and see how ONE GOD—THREE PERSONS made salvation possible. But more importantly, to also understand that it was necessary for each member of the Godhead-Father Son and Holy Spirit to accomplish the work of salvation.
Before we look specifically at the roll of each member of the Godhead, let me make one broad statement to show you how the Father Son and Holy Spirit work together to accomplish our salvation. Hopefully this will help you understand how it all fits together. Are you ready?
The Father INITIATES or begins salvations plan; the Son ACTIVATES or sets the plan in motion; and the Holy Spirit CULMINATES or completes the work of salvation in our lives.
First the Father: Peter says we are saved because “we have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” God the Father initiated the plan of salvation. The foreknowledge of God the Father brought the plan of salvation into being; we could say salvation is the Father’s idea.
• Ephesians 1:4-5 (NIV)
[4] For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love [5] he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.
Paul is not saying that God predestined or chose ahead of time those who would be saved and those who would be eternally lost. God did not look across time and say, “I pick you and you and you, but I don’t what you or you or you.” God predestined or determined ahead of time the plan of salvation. God decided before it all began that everyone who accepts Christ as their savior would be adopted into His family. This decision is what gives Him pleasure and it is His will or choice for all time never to be broken. The Father initiated the plan of salvation.
Next we’ll look at the Spirit: Peter said we are saved by, “the sanctifying work of the Spirit.” It is the Holy Spirit who culminates or completes the work of salvation in our lives.
As we confess our sins and believe that Jesus died in our place to pay the penalty of our sins, the Holy Spirit cleanses us from sin making us a new creation and empowers us to live a new life. It is the Holy Spirit who helps us to turn from sin and live like Jesus.
• John 16:8 (NIV)
When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
• Romans 8:9 (NIV)
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature [the flesh] but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
Finally the Son: Peter said we are saved by “Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood.” Jesus activated or set the plan of salvation in motion; Jesus made it all possible. The Spirit cannot finish the plan of the Father except that Jesus would go to the cross and die to pay the penalty for our sin.
• Matthew 20:28 (NIV)
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
• 1 Peter 1:18-19 (NIV)
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
While Jesus activated the plan of salvation, HE COULD NOT DO IT ALONE. It was necessary for the plan of salvation to involve the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.
How can you kill God? Death is the penalty of sin! Jesus the Only Son of God became sin for us!
• 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
How can a holy God become sin? The Father turned away from the Son and separated Himself form the Son in order to remain holy and pure – without sin.
• Matthew 27:46 (NIV)
. . . Jesus cried out in a loud voice . . ."My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
While Jesus is fully God once He is suffered the penalty of sin and is dead then He is powerless. Jesus really died! What can a corpse do? Nothing! What can the Father do for the Son? Nothing because Jesus has become sin for us and the Father has separated Himself from the Son in order to remain Holy. Therefore the Spirit touched the Son and resurrected Him to life and set Him free from the penalty of sin forever and reunite Him with the Father.
• 1 Peter 3:18 (NIV)
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
Jesus could not do the work of salvation alone! The work of Salvation required the work of the entire Godhead—Father, Son and Spirit.
The grape for communion- a picture of the trinity and a reminder that Jesus became one of us in everyway to experience the penalty of sin and die in our place.
