Trinity Series - small group study #3

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
Getting the Trinity Right – What’s the Big Deal
Week of January 25, 2009

Ø Modalism was an early heresy (2nd century) that stated that God is not three persons, but rather one person who manifests Himself in three different modes, or, ways – as Father, Son, and Spirit – but, He is only one of the three manifestations at a time. This heresy was quickly rejected, though there are modalists in Christendom today. Why would Scripture not support such a claim?

John 17 – Jesus praying to His Father
Matthew 3 – Jesus’ baptism, all three persons of the Trinity are present
Hebrews 10:12 – Jesus is at the right hand of the Father ( and v 15 – the Holy Spirit is bearing witness to us of the truth of the gospel)
Contemporary modalists – United Pentecostal Church; United Apostolic Church; modern singers: Phillips, Craig, and Dean.

Ø A far more destructive heresy was Arianism, named after the North African priest, Arius, who introduced the dangerous idea that Jesus had a similar nature as that of the Father, but not the identical nature – Jesus was necessarily different from the Father since God is one. Orthodox belief states that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are coequal and coeternal with, and have the exact same nature as, God the Father, though there are three distinct persons within the Godhead. Discuss the truth found in the following passages: John 10:22-33; Colossians 1:15-20; 2:8-15 ( we will see these passages again soon)

John 10 – emphasize the fact that the Pharisees understood fully that Jesus claimed to be God, the same as in the John 8 passage, which we will also look at tonight.

Colossians 1 – image of the invisible God: the representation of God to us in bodily form; firstborn – not as in the Arian heresy, but one with all the rights of the firstborn son in a monarchy who would rule (see the next passage for confirmation of this truth); Jesus was the agent of creation; He was not a “creature”

Colossians 2 – once again, the visible expression of God who rules and will rule with absolute authority in God’s kingdom

Note: it is important to be familiar with this heresy, since Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses believe a form of it today

Ø One proof of Jesus’ deity is the way that He received worship from people. Compare the way the angel of Revelation 19:10 reacted to the Apostle John’s attempt to worship him with the way Jesus received worship in Matthew 16:13-17 and John 20:24-29

After reading the John passage, you may want to stop and spend a few minutes worshiping Jesus!

Ø Read John 8:31-59. Look for verses that Arius (who believed that Jesus was not God) might have used to prove that Jesus was created rather than equal with God. What does Jesus say that absolutely refutes such a belief?

Arius would have said that all the references to God as Father would indicate that Jesus was created – there was a time when God was not a Father, because the Son was not the Son until He was born. We will deal with this heretical idea next week.

Jesus stated that the Father would glorify Him. God would never do such a thing for a creature. John 8:58 – compared with Exodus 3:14, of course. In Exodus 3, God called Moses to go back to Egypt to deliver the Israelites. Moses was reluctant, giving many excuses for his reluctance to go. He protested that the leaders would not listen to him. He asked God, “Who am I going to say sent me?” God’s response: “I am.” In other words, 1) I am self-existent – I depend upon no one for My existence; 2) I am the creator and sustainer of all that exists; 3) I will not change (see also Hebrews 13:8); 4) I am eternal” Jesus was saying all of those things about Himself in John 8:58