All of God: Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity - small group study #2

If you have not been following this series, please go to the post for January 22 where an explanation of the format is given. Happy studying!

All of God:
Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity
Why Study the Trinity? Week of January 18, 2009

Ø One of the primary reasons we study the Trinity is because God chose to reveal Himself to us in this way. The fact that Jesus took so very much time to talk about the Trinity on the night He was betrayed is especially compelling. This was His last time to instruct His disciples and He told them about who He really was – God. God is one, and God is three. Take the time, as a group, to read chapters 14-16 in John’s Gospel. Read slowly enough to absorb the number of references to one of the three persons of the Godhead.

Ø It is vital that we know God. How can we know God? What Scripture supports your belief?

1. God reveals Himself through creation. Psalm 19:1-6; Acts 14:15-17; Romans 1:18-20
2. God reveals Himself in human nature, particularly through our conscience. Genesis 1:27; Acts 17:22-29 (esp. 28-29); Romans 2:12-16
3. God reveals Himself through His word. 1 Samuel 3:21; Psalm 19:7-11; 1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 John 5:13 (Scripture gives us assurance – through belief – that we have eternal life)
4. God reveals Himself through Jesus. Hebrews 1:1-3; John 1:1-18 (v. 9 – He gives light, or understanding, to us; v 14 – Jesus dwelt, or, literally “pitched His tent” among us); it is also our privilege to know Jesus much better than we presently do – Philippians 3:10 – by spending time with Him through His word, in meditation, and in prayer.
5. God reveals Himself through the work of the Holy Spirit. We saw this over and over in John 14-16; 1 Corinthians 2:11-16.

Ø If God has specifically revealed Himself to us through His word, through His Son, and by His Spirit, why do we say that He is incomprehensible?

These notes come directly from the ESV Study Bible.

God is infinite and His creatures are finite. By definition, creatures depend on their Creator for their very existence and are limited in all aspects. Yet God is without limitations in every quality He possesses. This Creator/creature, infinite/finite gap will always exist.

The perfect unity of God’s attributes is far beyond the realm of human experience. God’s love, wrath, grace, justice, holiness, patience, and jealousy are continually functioning in a perfectly integrated yet infinitely complex way.

The effects of sin on the minds of fallen humans also greatly inhibit the ability to know God. The tendency of fallen creatures is to distort, pervert, and confuse truth and to use, or rather abuse, it for selfish ends rather than for God’s glory.

God has chosen not to reveal some things to us. Deut. 29:29. As all good fathers, God’s wisdom leads Him to refrain from answering all questions His children ask Him, and this contributes to His incomprehensibility. In heaven, God’s incomprehensibility will no doubt be lessened, but He will always be infinite, and we will always be finite (even though we will live eternally, we did have a beginning, and, all of our knowledge and understanding are totally dependent upon God).