Tethered To The Trinity Series

SERIES MYSTERIOUS 3

The Doctrine of The Holy Trinity

week 1 : Tethered To the Trinity

Pastor Timothy Porter

Text: Matthew 28:19 / 2 Corinthians 13:14

INTRODUCTION:

Every aspect of the Christian life is tethered to a biblical understanding of One God in three persons.

In this first installment, I want to lay a foundation for the entire series by answering two relevant questions:

1.) What exactly is the Trinity?

2.) Why does the Trinity matter to us today?

I know Dolly Parton????? I have stayed in her hotel [dream more resort] I have been to her theme park [Dollywood]

I have seen here in shows and concerts. I have even talked with people who are connected with her and who know her. I have even been close to her and heard her talk. I know Dolly Parton!!

Are you kidding me - I don't know her ! I just know of her.

? We often talk about God in the same terms.

“Oh, I know God.

I’ve read some stuff he has written down.

I’ve visited his house, occasionally -- especially during Christmas and Easter.

I know some people who are really connected to him. I know God.”

No, you don’t. You know about God, but you don’t really know God.

That’s precisely why we are beginning a series called Mysterious 3.

We want this series to be a series that doesn’t just tell you about God but helps us to really get to know God on an intimate level.

God has revealed himself to us as Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

It’s the foundation of Christianity.

The deepest questions of life are, “What is God like? Who is God? Who is he?” He’s all about the Trinity.

This study is paramount for all of us because Trinitarian implications loom large.

? For example:

>How do you know that you are going to heaven? The answer is the Trinity.

>How do you know that your sins have been forgiven and forgotten? The answer is the Trinity.

>How can you have an incredible marriage, deep intimacy and communication? How? The answer is the Trinity.

>How can your family operate from the same page? The answer is the Trinity.

>How can you have the power to overcome that hurtful habit, that substance abuse or that relational hang-up? The answer is the Trinity.

>Why do you have a desire for unity? The trinity. Diversity? The Trinity. Equality? The Trinity.

I believe, will change the course of our lives. We are answering the question, “What is God like and how does that affect and play out in my existence as well?”

What is the Trinity? The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We know that. But, specifically, the word “Trinity” means, “tri-unity” or, “three in oneness.”

? I’m want to give you three statements right now.

Here’s the first one: God is three persons.

Here’s the second one: each is fully God.

Here’s the third one: there is one God.

So God is One in essence and Three in persons

The Trinity is so massive and such a marvelous mystery that even when we get to Heaven it will still be mysterious.

? So we have to understand our limitations.

We Are Limited By Our Humanity

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV) 8 “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the LORD. 9 ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’”

God is our ceator; We are His creatures [sinners]

“The Trinity is a truth that proves that God is smarter than we are.” - Pastor Tim

We Are Limited By Our Language

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 (NIV) 11 “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

In a Nutshell

>Our Limitations Should Not Deter Our Explorations - [Disciple means learner]

>God is mysterious but not irrational

>God is knowable but not comprehensible

>"We don't have to understand it to experience it"

The Trinity is implicit in scripture. It is not explicit. You will not find the word “Trinity” in the Bible. You can search from Genesis all the way to the maps. (They have maps in the back.) It’s not in there. You will not see in scripture where it says, “Here is the Trinity -- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” It’s implicit. The deity of Christ, Jesus being fully God and fully man, is implicit, not explicit, in scripture. It’s there, and for two thousand years, it’s been recognized. But, you will not find the word.