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
Our Triune God
As most of you know, I spent 20 years at TVR Christian Camp in the NC Mountains. One of the great burdens of the job was the requirement to go snow skiing anywhere from 10 to 15 times a year at Beech Mountain or Sugar Mountain. Tough job, but somebody had to do it.
The winters were a good bit colder than they are here with typical winters seeing a lot more snow than we do here. Since the camp was located at about 3,000 feet above sea level and we would go up to 5,400 feet above sea level to ski at Beech Mountain, we found ourselves in the clouds a good bit. Here, we would just call it fog.
There is a climb of some 1,200 – 1,300 feet from Banner Elk to the top of Beech Mountain. It is more than that, but as far as the road is concerned, it is about 1,200 feet or so. You have to climb that distance in about 3 miles, so you can imagine how steep and how curvy the road is. Sometimes when we would take a group skiing on Beech Mountain, we would drive into the clouds. There is no way to communicate to you how thick that fog can be unless you have been in it. I have been driving on Beech Mountain when you could literally not see more than 10 feet in front of you. The white line on the side of the road was the only thing you could see, so you can imagine how hairy such a trip would be with a 500 foot drop off the side of the road just a few feet away.
That doesn’t mean the fog was all bad, though. When the temperature was below freezing, the moisture from the clouds would freeze on the trees. When the clouds would lift, they would, as you would expect, do so from the bottom of the mountain and go up. If you happened to be on top of Beech Mountain on a cold winter’s day when the fog lifted, you were in for a sight that is rarely seen this side of heaven. We called the moisture that froze on the trees ice fog, though most people call it hoar frost. On a brilliant sunny day with ice fog everywhere you could see and views for miles and miles in several directions from the top of Beech Mountain – what a treat!
We are in the beginning weeks of our series on the Trinity here at Grace Community Church. Some of you feel like you are in a fog. A thick fog. You may even feel like you are just a few feet away from taking a big plunge. Hang in there – the view will be worth it. Here’s the good news about what you are learning – or, not learning right now. The fog clears behind you. As you go up this mountain, you may be in a fog, but it is clearing behind you. What seemed rather abstruse last week is suddenly making sense to you this week. You are not exactly sure how it happened, but your understanding is growing. Just wait for the view at the top!
The first few weeks we have talked about why it is important to study the Trinity, and why it is so crucial that we have a precise understanding of this doctrine and not just a general sense about what it means that God is three in one. For the month of February, we are going to talk about our Triune God. Today we will learn – or, as the case may be – review the truth about this awesome God we worship and serve, this God who is one. For the next three weeks, we will consider the three persons of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Today’s text is Acts 17:22-34. Some of you know the context of this passage. The Apostle Paul was in Athens when he came to stand before the Areopagus on Mars Hill where philosophers debated religion and philosophy all day. They were particularly pleased when a new idea came to the Hill. Some of the men realized that Paul had a new religion and thought it would be good to hear from him. In a very few words – at least all that we have of Paul’s presentation is confined to a very few words – Paul said a great deal about God that is absolutely verified throughout Scripture. We will read this passage, and then I want to talk about our great Triune God before we meet Him at the Lord’s Table where, according to 1 Corinthians 10, we will participate in the body and blood of Jesus. Would you please stand as we read Acts 17:22-34? (ESV)
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of
Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
26 And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us,
28 for ‘In Him we live and move and have our being;’ as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed His offspring.’
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent,
31 because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He as appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
33 So Paul went out from their midst.
34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
What do you think God is like – is He far away, or is He near? Is He someone we can know, or is He ultimately unknowable? Another question – Is God righteous and just, or is He gracious and merciful? Is He so righteous and perfect that sin cannot be allowed into His presence, or is He willing to forgive sin and welcome sinners to Himself? You know the answer to these questions, don’t you? The answer is YES! He is all of the above.
How is it possible to be all of the above? The answer is found in the Trinity. If God existed in some other form, that would be OK, of course – He is God, after all, and we are not. But He does exist as one God, yet three persons, which, according to Romans 3:26, allows Him to be both just and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus. We saw last week how very important it is for us to be as precise in our definition of the Trinity as our finite minds will enable us to be. We will be defining this great mystery – three in one – for several more weeks as this series continues. This morning we are going to simply look in awe at a God who is much bigger than we have known or, frankly, can ever know. Our appreciation will grow, however, as we consider the far reaches of His holiness and His goodness. We will also see, in these coming weeks, how the doctrine of the Trinity is revealed to us for our comfort and the deepening of our relationship with the Triune God.
When we speak of God’s greatness, we refer to His transcendence, which means that God is far above His creation and He is independent of His creation. For the first 1800 years of the church, God’s transcendence was emphasized. That’s why hymns that emphasized God’s greatness like “A Mighty Fortress is our God” were so prominent.
When one first considers the greatness of God, the temptation is to think that He can never be known or even approached. (vv 24-26) At Mars Hill, Paul told his listeners that God cannot be confined to places that man has built, like man-made temples. Indeed, God made the very people who made the temples! God doesn’t need anything from us, nor does He need anything in the entire universe in order to be fulfilled. He is self-sufficient and self-sustaining. He cannot be contained in buildings made by human hands. We ought to take this a step further and admit that God cannot be comprehended in a finite human mind. How can that which is created understand its creator unless the creator reveals himself? Can you imagine how foolish we look to God when our thoughts and comments about Him begin with something like, “Well, I just think God is such and such a way?”
It is not surprising that we would think like that because there is always a temptation to create God in our own image! But, He cannot be contained in our finite minds – He is infinitely beyond our capacity to understand – unless He reveals Himself to us, and fortunately for us, in addition to the reality that God is a transcendent God, He is also immanent – He is near to us, revealing Himself to us.
When we speak of God’s nearness, we refer to His immanence. To say that God is immanent is to acknowledge that He exists, and, in fact, remains in His creation and interacts with those He created. While God’s transcendence has been emphasized for the greater part of church history, His immanence has been featured in the church for the last 200 plus years. That is why we sing so many praise songs as if we are intimately acquainted with God, like the song David sang for our special – “Praise the Father, praise the Son, praise the Spirit three in one.” Even though Chris Tomlin was acknowledging God’s greatness in His worship, there is an intimate feel to this song and to many of his songs.
And, well there should be. After Paul spoke of God’s transcendence, of His greatness, he quickly moved to say that God is near to us. (vv 27-29) He also acknowledged that there is a void in our hearts that we seek to fill. That is understandable – we are creatures and we seek to know and understand our Creator. Fortunately, God is not far from us! He makes it possible for us to know Him. Remember last week in John 8 when Jesus told the Pharisees that He spoke of what He had seen with His Father? Jesus revealed God very directly to us.
God is awesome and far above us – and, yet, He is near. Since we have the tendency to make God into our own image, you can see how easy it would be to get God’s transcendence and His immanence out of balance, can’t you? Those who focus more on God’s transcendence could end up believing that God is far too great to be concerned with the daily affairs of this world. One could conclude that God set the earth in motion and left us to our own petty devices.
At the other extreme, those who focus excessively on God’s immanence can see God in everything – including the chairs upon which you sit. Pantheists fail to distinguish between the Creator and the creation. To say that God is everywhere does not mean that He is a part of everything that He has created. We must worship the Creator – not His creation. Take care of His creation? Of course! Worship it? Absolutely not! We are responsible to be good stewards, but never fail to make the distinction between God and His creation.
So, is God transcendent or immanent? Yes. I suppose the question that we desperately need an answer to is whether God is so holy that He cannot look upon sin, or does He forgive and welcome sinners. Once again, Paul tells us that He is both. Let’s look one more time at Acts 17:29-31, then Jim McLaughlin will come to lead us in communion and to help us make sense of this paradox. Acts 17:29-31:
29Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the
divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by
the art and imagination of man.
30The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He
commands all people everywhere to repent,
31because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in
righteousness by a Man whom He as appointed; and of this He
has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.
For the conclusion of this sermon delivered by Law Professor Jim McLaughlin, go to our church website and access the sermon for February 1.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
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
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
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Response
In brief response to my friend who takes such issue to the doctrine of the Trinity, I will say that although he clearly read the message, he obviously disagrees with the notion that extra-biblical language must be used to define our beliefs because we look at the same verses and draw different conclusions. My response to Rev. Phillips - well, lies in what has already been said and what will continue to be said in the next two months. And, that's all. I will be glad to engage honest questions, but to engage one that speaks of the Triune God and follows with "blah, blah, blah" is not productive in the least. Since I am not convinced that modalism is a make or break belief, I will not respond as to a false gospel - though, I must say it seems close, to me.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Trinity Series - Sermon #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
Getting the Trinity Right: What’s the Big Deal?, Week of January 25
May I ask you a personal question? Don’t worry, I am not going to ask for a show of hands! Here is the question – how do you handle conflict? Which of the following would best describe you?
A. I hate conflict and will do almost anything to avoid it
B. I don’t like conflict, but I will face it when it is necessary
C. I welcome a good challenge and if that includes conflict, so be it
D. I am looking for a fight – meet me out back after church!
I guess I fit in Category B. I really don’t like conflict, but sometimes it just can’t be avoided. If you find yourself in Category A, being a Christian is not going to be easy for you. Jesus certainly never promised an easy life! Matthew 10:34-39: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Are you looking for your purpose in life? If you are a Christ-follower, whatever He calls you to do, lose your life in Him! It will not be easy, though. In John 15:16-17, Jesus said to His disciples, and by extension, to us: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” Then, in John 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
The life of a Christian is, in many ways, a life of conflict. The world does not understand us. The message of Jesus is particularly repugnant to the world today. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” to which many today would respond, “How dare he say that! How dare he say that he is the only way to heaven!” But, that is the truth we believe and it is the message we proclaim – and there is conflict with the world because of the message.
But, conflict also arises among those who seek to understand the truth that we find in God’s word. There is a fair amount of disagreement about the doctrine of the Trinity among those who claim to have a relationship with Jesus. Is it really that big of a deal to get it right? Do we have to be that precise about whether or not Jesus has always existed, or was He created, though created far more special than us? Let’s put it this way – if Jesus is going to say that our only hope of heaven is through Him, and He makes clear that it is our belief in Him that matters, well, I would think we better understand what God says in His word about Jesus.
Throughout this series, we will be talking about orthodox doctrine, or orthodox theology. In fact, there will be times when you hear something along the lines of, “this (teaching) is orthodox.” The Orthodox Church – as in Eastern Orthodox or Greek Orthodox Church – is not what is meant when the term “orthodox” is used. What is meant is the right and accepted teaching of the true, universal church. This teaching, or doctrine, has been hammered out throughout the history of the church, but most of the important issues were settled in the first five centuries, particularly in the fourth century, with regard to the Trinity. The church has lost its way from time to time and has been in need of reformation, but much of the battle for truth was fought and won early.
So, why concern ourselves with the fight for truth today if it was established back then? Because, even though the true universal church has settled on truth, teachers who are in error about who Jesus was continue to find an audience in our day. Many of their heresies are repeats of early theological mistakes, so it is helpful to gain a bit of an understanding about the issues that were so hotly debated in years gone by.
Before we read our text today, you need to know that the biggest theological battles over the Trinity were engaged over the person of Jesus Christ. Once the church accepted Jesus’ divinity and eternal existence as a person of the Trinity, it was not much of a battle to accept the Holy Spirit as God, at least among those who were orthodox. That doesn’t mean that there have not been significant disagreements in the church about the Holy Spirit, some of which we will investigate in this series, but our focus this morning is on Jesus’ deity, or His claim that He was God.
Today’s text is one of the classic texts in which Jesus declared not only divinity, but an eternal existence. In John 8, Jesus’ teachings were challenged by the Pharisees. They questioned Jesus’ credentials to teach and Jesus told them, in language that they understood, that He was God. Jesus used the same name for Himself that Exodus 3:14 tells us God had used in identifying Himself to Moses – “I Am.” It is interesting that so many people have wondered whether or not Jesus claimed to be God through the years. The Pharisees knew exactly what He was saying, as their response will show. We are going to read John 8:31-59 – a lengthy passage but an important one because of Jesus’ comments about the importance of truth, and because of His claim to be God. Please know that while Jesus was initially talking to those who had believed in Him, unbelievers quickly spoke up and challenged Him. Please stand with me as we read John 8:31-59.
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples,
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered Him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that You say, ‘You will become free?’”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham, yet you seek to kill Me because My word finds no place in you.
38 I speak of what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
39 They answered Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,
40 but now you seek to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.
41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to Him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father – even God.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love Me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of My own accord, but He sent Me.
43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear My word.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.
46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I tell you the truth, why do you not believe Me?
47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
48 The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right in saying that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
50 Yet I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks it, and He is the judge.
51 Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”
52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste death.’
53 Are You greater than our father, Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
55 But you have not known Him. I know Him. If I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know Him and I keep His word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.”
57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
59 So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
There were quite a few important words being exchanged in the
debate that we just read. It is easy for us to simply write the Pharisees off as being spiritually proud and blind. You would be right is saying so, but we must at least acknowledge that their objection to Jesus’ claims of divinity were rooted in their understanding – or, misunderstanding, as the case turned out to be – of the God of the OT. God said unequivocally, that He is one God in Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one.” So, when Jesus claimed to come from God, they shot back quickly, in essence, that they worshiped one God, not two.
We all understand, from the OT, that God is one. Did our understanding change when Jesus came and claimed to be God? No. The NT makes it clear that we worship one God, not three. Romans 3:29-30 is only one NT text that clearly states that God is one: “Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of the Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles, also, since God is one – who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.”
How does that jibe with Jesus’ claim that He is absolutely God? That was the question that the early church felt compelled to answer. They were forced to do so by using extra-biblical language – like, “Trinity.” Why was it necessary to explain God using language that was not in Scripture? It would seem easy enough to say, “All they needed to do was to go to Scripture and quote verses, like John 8:58 where Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” The response to such a contention is to recognize that people can use Scripture erroneously. Isn’t that what the Jews did when they told Jesus, in so many words, “You can’t be God – we serve only one God, and no one has seen Him?”
So, what was the church to do with Jesus’ clear statements that the Father and Son were one? The debates were quite intense, and quite interesting. They were also incredibly technical. I am going to give you just about the simplest version possible, and even then you must understand that though very precise language was used, people on different sides of the issues used the same terms but meant something entirely different from their opponents. Orthodox teaching about the Trinity is only clear to us, though, because of the tedious work of theologians of the first five centuries.
Speaking of theologians, if you are a Christ-follower, then you are a theologian! Contemporary theologians, from Bart to Sproul to J. I. Packer sound the cry for all believers to become theologians and study Scripture in order to better know the God of the Bible. Are you going to study the Trinity at the level that some of us are doing, now? Of course not! That is why the Lord gave teachers to the church. Every Christian, though, has a responsibility to study, to learn, and to be as accurate as possible when determining what he or she believes about what the Bible teaches. It is one of the answers to the question of today’s message, “What’s the Big Deal about Getting the Trinity Right?”
Theologians in the first three centuries, like Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen all made strides at a Trinitarian belief, but they were not terribly precise and when viewed in light of later understanding, may seem a bit suspect. One reason for their lack of precision was that they were not forced to be. Our precise understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity today came in response to false ideas that arose as people began to think about the implications of one God, three persons. By the way, Irenaeus’ big contribution to the church was to fight Gnosticism, which was as much or more philosophy than theology and was a far greater threat to the church than the heresies we will discuss in this series. Some go so far as to suggest that Gnosticism was a threat to Western civilization because of its popularity and its absolute disdain of procreation. But, that’s another study.
One of the earliest heresies about the Trinity that developed in the third century was a belief known as modalism, which is the belief 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. Basically, He was Father in the OT, Jesus in the Gospels, and the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. This was an attempt to deal with both realities that God is one and God is three.
Now, modalism is not always an eternal-damnation heresy, though it can be. It was not a big deal, though, as the early church quickly rejected this belief. How could Jesus pray to His Father in the garden? How could all three persons of the Trinity be represented at Jesus’ baptism with the Father speaking and the Spirit descending like a dove? Modalism proved to be untenable, so it was permanently put to rest, right? Nope. Modalists are on the scene today. United Pentecostal Churches and United Apostolic Churches are modalists, and so are some singers that some of you know – Phillips, Craig, and Dean.
A far more problematic belief in the early years was introduced by an Alexandrian priest named Arius, though he ended up not being a terribly big player in the debate that some of his ideas generated. Arius stated that the three persons of the Trinity were distinct from one another – more about that in just a moment. Arius’ ideas garnered a significant following, so much so that the Council of Nicea, in modern day Turkey, was called for by the Emperor Constantine to deal with the controversy.
Have you ever heard people say that when Christianity was made the state religion by decree of Constantine, the church was corrupted? That is true. It is also true that the recognition of Christianity allowed the kind of theological work that was done at the councils of the fourth century. All Christ-followers are the beneficiaries of the work that was done then.
Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, was the primary opponent of Arianism. He was a young man at Nicea and would lead the battle against Arianism throughout a good bit of the fourth century. The heresy remained surprisingly strong for years after Arius died. Again, Arius was not the primary spokesman for his ideas – indeed, he was dead before the debate grew white-hot in the middle of the fourth century.
It would not be accurate to say that Arius challenged orthodox doctrine and Athanasius defended it. There was no orthodox doctrine at the beginning of the fourth century. It would be more accurate to say that Athanasius helped to formulate orthodox doctrine. The popularity of Arius’ beliefs about Jesus made a statement of orthodox doctrine a necessity.
Arius believed that God was one, and thus, the idea of a Trinity was problematic. We have seen this problem before. Arius’ problem was that he made Scripture accommodate his beliefs rather than the other way around. He reasoned that if God is one, then Jesus had to be created. His famous statement, “There was a time when He (Jesus) was not,” sums up his thoughts about Jesus. And, herein lies the problem with using specific verses to be precise about doctrine. When we say that Jesus was begotten by the Father, we mean that Jesus was sent by the Father. When Arians say it, they mean that Jesus was created by the Father. It is no problem for them to say that Jesus came from the Father – but, what do they mean? Not what we mean when we say that.
If Jesus was created by the Father, said Arius, it only stands to reason that he was distinct in nature from the Father. In fact, Arius claimed, if it is necessary to use a different name to describe different persons, then they must be different entities. Since Arius believed that Jesus was created, he did not believe that Jesus was capable of remaining perfect apart from God’s determination and power.
You can see why these beliefs had to be dealt with and why it was necessary to call these beliefs heresy. The orthodox position that was established declared that the Trinity is three persons of the same substance, or essence. Arians believed that the Trinity consisted of three persons with similar substance. This debate was far, far more technical than I am making it sound. Much clarification was needed after Nicea. It was not until 381 at the Council of Constantinople that many of the finer points were clarified.
So, why is this important enough for us to take a Sunday morning to discuss when we could be looking directly at Scripture? For starters, it is important to know that the work done in the early church laid a foundation for us that makes it possible for us to drink deeply from the riches of God’s word without having to deal with fundamental truths about Scripture. More importantly, as we will discuss in coming weeks, groups like Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons that embrace beliefs that are Arian in nature are having quite a negative impact on our family members, neighbors, and co-workers and many of us have no idea how to battle false beliefs.
We have to stop – and, this is not a great place to stop. If we had time to read John 8 again, we would – but, you will do that this week in Home Fellowships. By the way, I will post both the sermons and HF lessons, with notes, on my blog, but it will be a week behind what we are doing here. You can get to my blog from our church website, and you can find the address for that in the bulletin.
All of God: Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity
Getting the Trinity Right: What’s the Big Deal?, Week of January 25
May I ask you a personal question? Don’t worry, I am not going to ask for a show of hands! Here is the question – how do you handle conflict? Which of the following would best describe you?
A. I hate conflict and will do almost anything to avoid it
B. I don’t like conflict, but I will face it when it is necessary
C. I welcome a good challenge and if that includes conflict, so be it
D. I am looking for a fight – meet me out back after church!
I guess I fit in Category B. I really don’t like conflict, but sometimes it just can’t be avoided. If you find yourself in Category A, being a Christian is not going to be easy for you. Jesus certainly never promised an easy life! Matthew 10:34-39: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Are you looking for your purpose in life? If you are a Christ-follower, whatever He calls you to do, lose your life in Him! It will not be easy, though. In John 15:16-17, Jesus said to His disciples, and by extension, to us: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” Then, in John 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
The life of a Christian is, in many ways, a life of conflict. The world does not understand us. The message of Jesus is particularly repugnant to the world today. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” to which many today would respond, “How dare he say that! How dare he say that he is the only way to heaven!” But, that is the truth we believe and it is the message we proclaim – and there is conflict with the world because of the message.
But, conflict also arises among those who seek to understand the truth that we find in God’s word. There is a fair amount of disagreement about the doctrine of the Trinity among those who claim to have a relationship with Jesus. Is it really that big of a deal to get it right? Do we have to be that precise about whether or not Jesus has always existed, or was He created, though created far more special than us? Let’s put it this way – if Jesus is going to say that our only hope of heaven is through Him, and He makes clear that it is our belief in Him that matters, well, I would think we better understand what God says in His word about Jesus.
Throughout this series, we will be talking about orthodox doctrine, or orthodox theology. In fact, there will be times when you hear something along the lines of, “this (teaching) is orthodox.” The Orthodox Church – as in Eastern Orthodox or Greek Orthodox Church – is not what is meant when the term “orthodox” is used. What is meant is the right and accepted teaching of the true, universal church. This teaching, or doctrine, has been hammered out throughout the history of the church, but most of the important issues were settled in the first five centuries, particularly in the fourth century, with regard to the Trinity. The church has lost its way from time to time and has been in need of reformation, but much of the battle for truth was fought and won early.
So, why concern ourselves with the fight for truth today if it was established back then? Because, even though the true universal church has settled on truth, teachers who are in error about who Jesus was continue to find an audience in our day. Many of their heresies are repeats of early theological mistakes, so it is helpful to gain a bit of an understanding about the issues that were so hotly debated in years gone by.
Before we read our text today, you need to know that the biggest theological battles over the Trinity were engaged over the person of Jesus Christ. Once the church accepted Jesus’ divinity and eternal existence as a person of the Trinity, it was not much of a battle to accept the Holy Spirit as God, at least among those who were orthodox. That doesn’t mean that there have not been significant disagreements in the church about the Holy Spirit, some of which we will investigate in this series, but our focus this morning is on Jesus’ deity, or His claim that He was God.
Today’s text is one of the classic texts in which Jesus declared not only divinity, but an eternal existence. In John 8, Jesus’ teachings were challenged by the Pharisees. They questioned Jesus’ credentials to teach and Jesus told them, in language that they understood, that He was God. Jesus used the same name for Himself that Exodus 3:14 tells us God had used in identifying Himself to Moses – “I Am.” It is interesting that so many people have wondered whether or not Jesus claimed to be God through the years. The Pharisees knew exactly what He was saying, as their response will show. We are going to read John 8:31-59 – a lengthy passage but an important one because of Jesus’ comments about the importance of truth, and because of His claim to be God. Please know that while Jesus was initially talking to those who had believed in Him, unbelievers quickly spoke up and challenged Him. Please stand with me as we read John 8:31-59.
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples,
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered Him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that You say, ‘You will become free?’”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham, yet you seek to kill Me because My word finds no place in you.
38 I speak of what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
39 They answered Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,
40 but now you seek to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.
41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to Him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father – even God.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love Me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of My own accord, but He sent Me.
43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear My word.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.
46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I tell you the truth, why do you not believe Me?
47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
48 The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right in saying that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
50 Yet I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks it, and He is the judge.
51 Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”
52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste death.’
53 Are You greater than our father, Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
55 But you have not known Him. I know Him. If I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know Him and I keep His word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.”
57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
59 So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
There were quite a few important words being exchanged in the
debate that we just read. It is easy for us to simply write the Pharisees off as being spiritually proud and blind. You would be right is saying so, but we must at least acknowledge that their objection to Jesus’ claims of divinity were rooted in their understanding – or, misunderstanding, as the case turned out to be – of the God of the OT. God said unequivocally, that He is one God in Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one.” So, when Jesus claimed to come from God, they shot back quickly, in essence, that they worshiped one God, not two.
We all understand, from the OT, that God is one. Did our understanding change when Jesus came and claimed to be God? No. The NT makes it clear that we worship one God, not three. Romans 3:29-30 is only one NT text that clearly states that God is one: “Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of the Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles, also, since God is one – who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.”
How does that jibe with Jesus’ claim that He is absolutely God? That was the question that the early church felt compelled to answer. They were forced to do so by using extra-biblical language – like, “Trinity.” Why was it necessary to explain God using language that was not in Scripture? It would seem easy enough to say, “All they needed to do was to go to Scripture and quote verses, like John 8:58 where Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” The response to such a contention is to recognize that people can use Scripture erroneously. Isn’t that what the Jews did when they told Jesus, in so many words, “You can’t be God – we serve only one God, and no one has seen Him?”
So, what was the church to do with Jesus’ clear statements that the Father and Son were one? The debates were quite intense, and quite interesting. They were also incredibly technical. I am going to give you just about the simplest version possible, and even then you must understand that though very precise language was used, people on different sides of the issues used the same terms but meant something entirely different from their opponents. Orthodox teaching about the Trinity is only clear to us, though, because of the tedious work of theologians of the first five centuries.
Speaking of theologians, if you are a Christ-follower, then you are a theologian! Contemporary theologians, from Bart to Sproul to J. I. Packer sound the cry for all believers to become theologians and study Scripture in order to better know the God of the Bible. Are you going to study the Trinity at the level that some of us are doing, now? Of course not! That is why the Lord gave teachers to the church. Every Christian, though, has a responsibility to study, to learn, and to be as accurate as possible when determining what he or she believes about what the Bible teaches. It is one of the answers to the question of today’s message, “What’s the Big Deal about Getting the Trinity Right?”
Theologians in the first three centuries, like Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen all made strides at a Trinitarian belief, but they were not terribly precise and when viewed in light of later understanding, may seem a bit suspect. One reason for their lack of precision was that they were not forced to be. Our precise understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity today came in response to false ideas that arose as people began to think about the implications of one God, three persons. By the way, Irenaeus’ big contribution to the church was to fight Gnosticism, which was as much or more philosophy than theology and was a far greater threat to the church than the heresies we will discuss in this series. Some go so far as to suggest that Gnosticism was a threat to Western civilization because of its popularity and its absolute disdain of procreation. But, that’s another study.
One of the earliest heresies about the Trinity that developed in the third century was a belief known as modalism, which is the belief 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. Basically, He was Father in the OT, Jesus in the Gospels, and the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. This was an attempt to deal with both realities that God is one and God is three.
Now, modalism is not always an eternal-damnation heresy, though it can be. It was not a big deal, though, as the early church quickly rejected this belief. How could Jesus pray to His Father in the garden? How could all three persons of the Trinity be represented at Jesus’ baptism with the Father speaking and the Spirit descending like a dove? Modalism proved to be untenable, so it was permanently put to rest, right? Nope. Modalists are on the scene today. United Pentecostal Churches and United Apostolic Churches are modalists, and so are some singers that some of you know – Phillips, Craig, and Dean.
A far more problematic belief in the early years was introduced by an Alexandrian priest named Arius, though he ended up not being a terribly big player in the debate that some of his ideas generated. Arius stated that the three persons of the Trinity were distinct from one another – more about that in just a moment. Arius’ ideas garnered a significant following, so much so that the Council of Nicea, in modern day Turkey, was called for by the Emperor Constantine to deal with the controversy.
Have you ever heard people say that when Christianity was made the state religion by decree of Constantine, the church was corrupted? That is true. It is also true that the recognition of Christianity allowed the kind of theological work that was done at the councils of the fourth century. All Christ-followers are the beneficiaries of the work that was done then.
Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, was the primary opponent of Arianism. He was a young man at Nicea and would lead the battle against Arianism throughout a good bit of the fourth century. The heresy remained surprisingly strong for years after Arius died. Again, Arius was not the primary spokesman for his ideas – indeed, he was dead before the debate grew white-hot in the middle of the fourth century.
It would not be accurate to say that Arius challenged orthodox doctrine and Athanasius defended it. There was no orthodox doctrine at the beginning of the fourth century. It would be more accurate to say that Athanasius helped to formulate orthodox doctrine. The popularity of Arius’ beliefs about Jesus made a statement of orthodox doctrine a necessity.
Arius believed that God was one, and thus, the idea of a Trinity was problematic. We have seen this problem before. Arius’ problem was that he made Scripture accommodate his beliefs rather than the other way around. He reasoned that if God is one, then Jesus had to be created. His famous statement, “There was a time when He (Jesus) was not,” sums up his thoughts about Jesus. And, herein lies the problem with using specific verses to be precise about doctrine. When we say that Jesus was begotten by the Father, we mean that Jesus was sent by the Father. When Arians say it, they mean that Jesus was created by the Father. It is no problem for them to say that Jesus came from the Father – but, what do they mean? Not what we mean when we say that.
If Jesus was created by the Father, said Arius, it only stands to reason that he was distinct in nature from the Father. In fact, Arius claimed, if it is necessary to use a different name to describe different persons, then they must be different entities. Since Arius believed that Jesus was created, he did not believe that Jesus was capable of remaining perfect apart from God’s determination and power.
You can see why these beliefs had to be dealt with and why it was necessary to call these beliefs heresy. The orthodox position that was established declared that the Trinity is three persons of the same substance, or essence. Arians believed that the Trinity consisted of three persons with similar substance. This debate was far, far more technical than I am making it sound. Much clarification was needed after Nicea. It was not until 381 at the Council of Constantinople that many of the finer points were clarified.
So, why is this important enough for us to take a Sunday morning to discuss when we could be looking directly at Scripture? For starters, it is important to know that the work done in the early church laid a foundation for us that makes it possible for us to drink deeply from the riches of God’s word without having to deal with fundamental truths about Scripture. More importantly, as we will discuss in coming weeks, groups like Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons that embrace beliefs that are Arian in nature are having quite a negative impact on our family members, neighbors, and co-workers and many of us have no idea how to battle false beliefs.
We have to stop – and, this is not a great place to stop. If we had time to read John 8 again, we would – but, you will do that this week in Home Fellowships. By the way, I will post both the sermons and HF lessons, with notes, on my blog, but it will be a week behind what we are doing here. You can get to my blog from our church website, and you can find the address for that in the bulletin.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
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).
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).
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
All of God: Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity - Sermon #1
If you did not read the last post about the series on the Trinity that our church is conducting this spring, both on Sunday mornings and in our small groups, please go back one post and read the introduction - and, look at the questions for the first small group session before you read this sermon. God bless!
All of God:
Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity
Why Study the Trinity?
Did you recognize the words that David just sang? Maybe, if you have come here from a liturgical church – or, if you are a fan of Rich Mullins, Petra, or Third Day. He sang the words to The Apostles’ Creed. At the end of this message we will recite and then, sing, this creed. It is significant because at least a portion of it constitutes the earliest creed, or statement of belief, of the Christian Church. If you were listening carefully, you heard the earliest thoughts from the church about the Trinity – God in three persons.
What is the big deal about the Trinity, anyway? You might say, “I have grown up my whole life knowing that God is three in one. Explain it? Of course! You see, God is three, but He is one. You want more explanation? Well, you just gotta believe, that’s all!”
And, that’s about the best many of us can do! Hey, we have to acknowledge right up front that even though we know God in varying degrees, depending on where we are in the Christian life, nonetheless He is somewhat mysterious to all of us, and the doctrine of the Trinity is a mystery! I don’t know about you, but I tend to think of God as “one” or as “three.” He is much more, though – He is three-in-one. But just because God is mysterious and there is mystery surrounding the truth of the Trinity doesn’t mean that we cannot know anything about this most important doctrine!
I told you last week that there is a difference, in theological terms, between a secret and a mystery. A secret is something we absolutely cannot know if God doesn’t reveal it to us. Period. A mystery is something that was previously hidden from us but that God has now revealed to us. Even though we now have knowledge and awareness of a particular truth that was hidden before, there is more to the truth that God has shown us than we will ever be able to fully comprehend, and we will never be able to adequately explain this doctrine. A mystery, in theological terms, is not what we typically think of as a mystery today. When you hear the term mystery, you probably think of something that is unknown but is solvable if you can put all the pieces together – like a murder mystery. That is not a biblical mystery, though.
Perhaps a bit of Scripture will help. First, with regard to secrets. Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Secrets are something we cannot know. But a mystery, in the NT, is something that was prev – well, you’ll see.
In Romans 16:25-27, the Apostle Paul gives an informative benediction by writing, “Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith – to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.”
You see it, don’t you? A mystery, in the NT, is something that we didn’t know about but now we do because God let us in on it. But, many of the truths in the New Testament that are called mysteries – such as, the gospel in Romans 16, the idea of Christ in you, in Colossians 1:27, and the mystery of faith in 1 Timothy 3:9 – while, indeed, are truths that are identified and explained to a significant degree, are still, nonetheless, beyond our human ability to fully understand and explain. For instance, try explaining Christ in you, the hope of glory.
You may feel like you are on a see-saw here, but I need to come right back and say that there is much about God that we can know. That we should know. That we will, after this series, know a lot better than we do now – at least that is the goal! BUT, as the see-saw teeters back, we must acknowledge that we will never fully comprehend God – which brings us back to the title of our series: All of God: Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity.
We will talk a lot more about how God is knowable, and yet incomprehensible, in the Home Fellowships this week. Throughout this two and a half month series, with a few breaks built in, we will be learning more and more about God while all the while realizing that there are some things that we can never know about Him in this life, and we cannot say with certainty how fully we will know Him in eternity.
I want to make one more introductory note before we read our text for this morning. When the name God is used in the title of the series, it is not referring to God the Father. It is referring to God the Father, God the Son, Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit. When the Old Testament speaks of God, it is not referring to God the Father, but, rather, to Father, Son, and Spirit. God has always been triune, or, three in one. Remember, it was a secret in the OT, but the mystery has been revealed in the NT. And, we are going to explore that mystery! Let’s get to our text this morning, Romans 11:33-36.
This text is about the mystery of God, who is always triune, remember, and our text reminds us that with all we know about God, His awesomeness is beyond our comprehension, though our awareness of God’s awesomeness expands as we contemplate the truth we are given about who He is! Stand with me, if you would, as we read Romans 11:33-36:
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and How inscrutable His ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?”
36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
Why should we study the Trinity? There are several reasons, beginning with the plain and simple fact that:
1. God chose to reveal Himself this way to us
He chose to reveal Himself to us in this way because it is who He is – and, He did so for our benefit and comfort. His glory, absolutely! But, also for our benefit and comfort. Our knowledge increases as we learn about God’s true nature and our faith grows as we see the many ways God, in the persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, work together to secure our salvation, to shepherd us through this world, and to guard and guarantee our inheritance of eternal life.
When Jesus was at the very end of His time with the disciples on earth, the night before His arrest when you would think He would say only the most important things, Jesus repeatedly spoke about the Trinity. We will see just how much in our Home Fellowships this week.
The second reason we should study the Trinity is that:
2. It connects us with all our brothers and sisters since the church began at Pentecost
The study of God has dominated theological discussions ever since Jesus went back to heaven to be with the Father and the Holy Spirit came to us at Pentecost. Christianity is a historical religion – there is no way to divorce ourselves from the past. Whether we know it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, our understanding of Scripture is greatly impacted by the theological work done by saints through all 20 centuries of the church’s existence. In fact, the study of the history of the church is, in many ways, the study of theological formulation. Today, we characterize God as “three in one,” and even though we cannot fully explain that, we do accept it. Not only has that not always been the case, it is not true among all people who claim to be Christians today. Interestingly enough, the heresies about Jesus today are essentially the same heresies that have been around for centuries, even though they may take a bit of a different form from one century to the next.
Next Sunday we will be talking about why it is important to get the doctrine of the Trinity right. We will take a look at some of the main controversies through the centuries and how we came to the conclusions about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit that we embrace today. I promise that it will not be simply a history lesson, and I will do my absolute best not to be boring! When we study the Trinity, we inevitably connect ourselves with all those who have gone before us – and, if they had not remained true to the triune God, we would not be here today.
Another reason we study the Trinity is that:
3. This doctrine distinguishes Christianity from all other religions and from “Christian” cults
We should understand this crucial difference because it has eternal implications. It is why that when someone asks, “Don’t we all worship the same God?” it would be appropriate for you to say, “Only if we all worship the triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” While some other religions acknowledge Jesus as an important teacher, and in some cases, such as Islam, as a prophet, no other religion recognizes Jesus as God. In fact, this is true of cults, as well. If you are wondering whether or not a particular group is a cult, here are three distinguishing marks of a cult:
1) They deny the deity of Jesus. Even if they say they believe that Jesus was God, they are playing with words. When you press them, they do not believe that Jesus was God. More about that next week.
2) They deny salvation by grace. Always, there is some effort on a person’s part that is required for salvation.
3) They have another source of revelation – the book of Mormon, the writings of the current leader, whatever. There is always some source of revelation that is thought to be directly from God that comes from outside the Bible.
It is my desire to spend one Sunday in this series – or, at least a portion of a Sunday – talking about how to witness to someone who denies the deity of Jesus, such as someone involved with Jehovah’s Witnesses. I can promise you, if you are going to convince someone in a cult that his or her beliefs are faulty, you are going to have to understand the Trinity. A good bit of their training is based around how to shake your confidence in the Trinity. It is our defining doctrine and we need to study it so that we can understand all of God. A fourth reason to study the Trinity is:
4. A proper understanding of the interaction between Father, Son, and Spirit and an understanding of their roles in our lives will lead to significant spiritual growth
It is interesting that when I have said to people inside and outside of our church that we will be studying the Trinity, at least a couple of people have said, “That’s great – I always wanted to know more about the Holy Spirit.” Interesting. Maybe that desire is there because unless you are charismatic, you don’t spend nearly as much time thinking about the Holy Spirit as you do thinking about God the Father and Jesus. All three persons of the Trinity are intimately connected with one another and are intimately involved in the lives of Christ-followers. The more we know about the roles the different persons of the Godhead have in our lives, the more potential for spiritual growth.
Speaking of roles, I suppose the most frequently asked question so far about the Trinity involves prayer. To whom do we pray? I am going to let you in on a secret, and in so doing, it will reveal how complex this topic is – I don’t have that answer, yet. I used to think I had it, but I am not as sure as I was. If you pressed me for an answer, I would say that it is clear that we pray to God the Father. No one questions that. Do we pray to Jesus? Well, there is evidence that the Apostle Paul communed with the Savior, but we are not commanded to pray to Jesus. We will get deeper into that topic in two or three weeks. How about the Holy Spirit? If there is command or example to pray to the Spirit, I do not currently know where it is. I can tell you, though, when you understand the Spirit’s role in prayer, your confidence in prayer will take off like a rocket! We are going to get there – just be patient.
The last reason I will give to study the Trinity is that:
5. It will increase our awareness of God’s awesomeness!
God is knowable. God is incomprehensible. Let me say that again: God is knowable; God is incomprehensible. If those seem like mutually exclusive ideas, trust me, they are not. The harmony of these two truths will be thoroughly explored at Home Fellowships this week. Are you getting the hint, yet, about how important the small groups are to what we are learning this semester? See KJ or me if you are not connected with one yet. Hey, why don’t you plan to go to Home Fellowships for just this semester while we are studying the Trinity? If you do not find it that helpful to your spiritual life, you don’t have to come back in the fall. I am not being sarcastic when I say that – I mean it. Just come for this spring, if you want to, while this church-wide study is being conducted. One of the reasons it is so important to be in those groups is that there will be much more opportunity for exploring Scripture in small groups than Sunday morning allows, especially with a topic like ours today.
God is awesome beyond our comprehension. Our text told us that, but we already knew it. The more we learn about the Trinity, the more amazed we will become at just who God is! But, it is not just an ontological or theological understanding we will gain – we will find Him all the more real and all the more awesome in our lives. I hope you are excited about this study. Please let me encourage you to hang in there, even if the waters seem to be a little deep for you at times. I pledge, as do the Home Fellowship leaders, to keep this as attainable as possible. But, if your knowledge and understanding of the Trinity is not challenged, we fail on this last point. Our goal is to find, at the end of this study, that God is far more awesome and wonderful and terrifying and gracious and mysterious than we ever knew Him to be.
As I have already stated, next week we will spend a little time learning how we came to the belief about God that we have today. You may have heard about the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople, both occurring in the 4th century – or, maybe you haven’t heard about those councils! Perhaps you have heard of the Nicene Creed or the Apostles’ Creed. I can tell you that almost all of the major councils and creeds in church history were a reaction to bad theology and involved the understanding of the triune God.
David sang the Apostle’s Creed as the special this morning. In just a moment, we are going to stand and quote this creed, and then David is going to lead us as we sing it. How many of you know the Apostles’ Creed by heart?
The Apostle’s Creed is the earliest known creed of the church. Well, actually the old Roman Creed is the oldest creed – and, it was eventually expanded and became known as the Apostle’s Creed. The version of the Apostle’s Creed that is recited today was not in its final form until the beginning of the 10th century. The Roman Creed, on the other hand, was established no later than the end of the second century. The earliest form is very abbreviated. The oldest document we have states this, and this only:
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord. And in the Holy Spirit, the holy Church, the resurrection of the flesh.”
Do you see anything significant in this creed? Just about the only thing it states is the truth of the three persons of the Godhead, though we could not derive the full doctrine of the Trinity from this brief creed. The same is true of the Apostle’s Creed, but it is significant, nonetheless, as a statement of belief of the early church. So, let’s affirm the Apostles’ Creed together. By the way, when this creed speaks of the “catholic” church, it means the universal church – it is not referring to the Roman Catholic Church, but rather to all true Christ-followers, those who have been saved by grace through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus’ death on the cross. So, having clarified that, let’s stand and quote this creed.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.
Amen.
All of God:
Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity
Why Study the Trinity?
Did you recognize the words that David just sang? Maybe, if you have come here from a liturgical church – or, if you are a fan of Rich Mullins, Petra, or Third Day. He sang the words to The Apostles’ Creed. At the end of this message we will recite and then, sing, this creed. It is significant because at least a portion of it constitutes the earliest creed, or statement of belief, of the Christian Church. If you were listening carefully, you heard the earliest thoughts from the church about the Trinity – God in three persons.
What is the big deal about the Trinity, anyway? You might say, “I have grown up my whole life knowing that God is three in one. Explain it? Of course! You see, God is three, but He is one. You want more explanation? Well, you just gotta believe, that’s all!”
And, that’s about the best many of us can do! Hey, we have to acknowledge right up front that even though we know God in varying degrees, depending on where we are in the Christian life, nonetheless He is somewhat mysterious to all of us, and the doctrine of the Trinity is a mystery! I don’t know about you, but I tend to think of God as “one” or as “three.” He is much more, though – He is three-in-one. But just because God is mysterious and there is mystery surrounding the truth of the Trinity doesn’t mean that we cannot know anything about this most important doctrine!
I told you last week that there is a difference, in theological terms, between a secret and a mystery. A secret is something we absolutely cannot know if God doesn’t reveal it to us. Period. A mystery is something that was previously hidden from us but that God has now revealed to us. Even though we now have knowledge and awareness of a particular truth that was hidden before, there is more to the truth that God has shown us than we will ever be able to fully comprehend, and we will never be able to adequately explain this doctrine. A mystery, in theological terms, is not what we typically think of as a mystery today. When you hear the term mystery, you probably think of something that is unknown but is solvable if you can put all the pieces together – like a murder mystery. That is not a biblical mystery, though.
Perhaps a bit of Scripture will help. First, with regard to secrets. Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Secrets are something we cannot know. But a mystery, in the NT, is something that was prev – well, you’ll see.
In Romans 16:25-27, the Apostle Paul gives an informative benediction by writing, “Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith – to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.”
You see it, don’t you? A mystery, in the NT, is something that we didn’t know about but now we do because God let us in on it. But, many of the truths in the New Testament that are called mysteries – such as, the gospel in Romans 16, the idea of Christ in you, in Colossians 1:27, and the mystery of faith in 1 Timothy 3:9 – while, indeed, are truths that are identified and explained to a significant degree, are still, nonetheless, beyond our human ability to fully understand and explain. For instance, try explaining Christ in you, the hope of glory.
You may feel like you are on a see-saw here, but I need to come right back and say that there is much about God that we can know. That we should know. That we will, after this series, know a lot better than we do now – at least that is the goal! BUT, as the see-saw teeters back, we must acknowledge that we will never fully comprehend God – which brings us back to the title of our series: All of God: Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity.
We will talk a lot more about how God is knowable, and yet incomprehensible, in the Home Fellowships this week. Throughout this two and a half month series, with a few breaks built in, we will be learning more and more about God while all the while realizing that there are some things that we can never know about Him in this life, and we cannot say with certainty how fully we will know Him in eternity.
I want to make one more introductory note before we read our text for this morning. When the name God is used in the title of the series, it is not referring to God the Father. It is referring to God the Father, God the Son, Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit. When the Old Testament speaks of God, it is not referring to God the Father, but, rather, to Father, Son, and Spirit. God has always been triune, or, three in one. Remember, it was a secret in the OT, but the mystery has been revealed in the NT. And, we are going to explore that mystery! Let’s get to our text this morning, Romans 11:33-36.
This text is about the mystery of God, who is always triune, remember, and our text reminds us that with all we know about God, His awesomeness is beyond our comprehension, though our awareness of God’s awesomeness expands as we contemplate the truth we are given about who He is! Stand with me, if you would, as we read Romans 11:33-36:
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and How inscrutable His ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?”
36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
Why should we study the Trinity? There are several reasons, beginning with the plain and simple fact that:
1. God chose to reveal Himself this way to us
He chose to reveal Himself to us in this way because it is who He is – and, He did so for our benefit and comfort. His glory, absolutely! But, also for our benefit and comfort. Our knowledge increases as we learn about God’s true nature and our faith grows as we see the many ways God, in the persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, work together to secure our salvation, to shepherd us through this world, and to guard and guarantee our inheritance of eternal life.
When Jesus was at the very end of His time with the disciples on earth, the night before His arrest when you would think He would say only the most important things, Jesus repeatedly spoke about the Trinity. We will see just how much in our Home Fellowships this week.
The second reason we should study the Trinity is that:
2. It connects us with all our brothers and sisters since the church began at Pentecost
The study of God has dominated theological discussions ever since Jesus went back to heaven to be with the Father and the Holy Spirit came to us at Pentecost. Christianity is a historical religion – there is no way to divorce ourselves from the past. Whether we know it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, our understanding of Scripture is greatly impacted by the theological work done by saints through all 20 centuries of the church’s existence. In fact, the study of the history of the church is, in many ways, the study of theological formulation. Today, we characterize God as “three in one,” and even though we cannot fully explain that, we do accept it. Not only has that not always been the case, it is not true among all people who claim to be Christians today. Interestingly enough, the heresies about Jesus today are essentially the same heresies that have been around for centuries, even though they may take a bit of a different form from one century to the next.
Next Sunday we will be talking about why it is important to get the doctrine of the Trinity right. We will take a look at some of the main controversies through the centuries and how we came to the conclusions about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit that we embrace today. I promise that it will not be simply a history lesson, and I will do my absolute best not to be boring! When we study the Trinity, we inevitably connect ourselves with all those who have gone before us – and, if they had not remained true to the triune God, we would not be here today.
Another reason we study the Trinity is that:
3. This doctrine distinguishes Christianity from all other religions and from “Christian” cults
We should understand this crucial difference because it has eternal implications. It is why that when someone asks, “Don’t we all worship the same God?” it would be appropriate for you to say, “Only if we all worship the triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” While some other religions acknowledge Jesus as an important teacher, and in some cases, such as Islam, as a prophet, no other religion recognizes Jesus as God. In fact, this is true of cults, as well. If you are wondering whether or not a particular group is a cult, here are three distinguishing marks of a cult:
1) They deny the deity of Jesus. Even if they say they believe that Jesus was God, they are playing with words. When you press them, they do not believe that Jesus was God. More about that next week.
2) They deny salvation by grace. Always, there is some effort on a person’s part that is required for salvation.
3) They have another source of revelation – the book of Mormon, the writings of the current leader, whatever. There is always some source of revelation that is thought to be directly from God that comes from outside the Bible.
It is my desire to spend one Sunday in this series – or, at least a portion of a Sunday – talking about how to witness to someone who denies the deity of Jesus, such as someone involved with Jehovah’s Witnesses. I can promise you, if you are going to convince someone in a cult that his or her beliefs are faulty, you are going to have to understand the Trinity. A good bit of their training is based around how to shake your confidence in the Trinity. It is our defining doctrine and we need to study it so that we can understand all of God. A fourth reason to study the Trinity is:
4. A proper understanding of the interaction between Father, Son, and Spirit and an understanding of their roles in our lives will lead to significant spiritual growth
It is interesting that when I have said to people inside and outside of our church that we will be studying the Trinity, at least a couple of people have said, “That’s great – I always wanted to know more about the Holy Spirit.” Interesting. Maybe that desire is there because unless you are charismatic, you don’t spend nearly as much time thinking about the Holy Spirit as you do thinking about God the Father and Jesus. All three persons of the Trinity are intimately connected with one another and are intimately involved in the lives of Christ-followers. The more we know about the roles the different persons of the Godhead have in our lives, the more potential for spiritual growth.
Speaking of roles, I suppose the most frequently asked question so far about the Trinity involves prayer. To whom do we pray? I am going to let you in on a secret, and in so doing, it will reveal how complex this topic is – I don’t have that answer, yet. I used to think I had it, but I am not as sure as I was. If you pressed me for an answer, I would say that it is clear that we pray to God the Father. No one questions that. Do we pray to Jesus? Well, there is evidence that the Apostle Paul communed with the Savior, but we are not commanded to pray to Jesus. We will get deeper into that topic in two or three weeks. How about the Holy Spirit? If there is command or example to pray to the Spirit, I do not currently know where it is. I can tell you, though, when you understand the Spirit’s role in prayer, your confidence in prayer will take off like a rocket! We are going to get there – just be patient.
The last reason I will give to study the Trinity is that:
5. It will increase our awareness of God’s awesomeness!
God is knowable. God is incomprehensible. Let me say that again: God is knowable; God is incomprehensible. If those seem like mutually exclusive ideas, trust me, they are not. The harmony of these two truths will be thoroughly explored at Home Fellowships this week. Are you getting the hint, yet, about how important the small groups are to what we are learning this semester? See KJ or me if you are not connected with one yet. Hey, why don’t you plan to go to Home Fellowships for just this semester while we are studying the Trinity? If you do not find it that helpful to your spiritual life, you don’t have to come back in the fall. I am not being sarcastic when I say that – I mean it. Just come for this spring, if you want to, while this church-wide study is being conducted. One of the reasons it is so important to be in those groups is that there will be much more opportunity for exploring Scripture in small groups than Sunday morning allows, especially with a topic like ours today.
God is awesome beyond our comprehension. Our text told us that, but we already knew it. The more we learn about the Trinity, the more amazed we will become at just who God is! But, it is not just an ontological or theological understanding we will gain – we will find Him all the more real and all the more awesome in our lives. I hope you are excited about this study. Please let me encourage you to hang in there, even if the waters seem to be a little deep for you at times. I pledge, as do the Home Fellowship leaders, to keep this as attainable as possible. But, if your knowledge and understanding of the Trinity is not challenged, we fail on this last point. Our goal is to find, at the end of this study, that God is far more awesome and wonderful and terrifying and gracious and mysterious than we ever knew Him to be.
As I have already stated, next week we will spend a little time learning how we came to the belief about God that we have today. You may have heard about the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople, both occurring in the 4th century – or, maybe you haven’t heard about those councils! Perhaps you have heard of the Nicene Creed or the Apostles’ Creed. I can tell you that almost all of the major councils and creeds in church history were a reaction to bad theology and involved the understanding of the triune God.
David sang the Apostle’s Creed as the special this morning. In just a moment, we are going to stand and quote this creed, and then David is going to lead us as we sing it. How many of you know the Apostles’ Creed by heart?
The Apostle’s Creed is the earliest known creed of the church. Well, actually the old Roman Creed is the oldest creed – and, it was eventually expanded and became known as the Apostle’s Creed. The version of the Apostle’s Creed that is recited today was not in its final form until the beginning of the 10th century. The Roman Creed, on the other hand, was established no later than the end of the second century. The earliest form is very abbreviated. The oldest document we have states this, and this only:
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord. And in the Holy Spirit, the holy Church, the resurrection of the flesh.”
Do you see anything significant in this creed? Just about the only thing it states is the truth of the three persons of the Godhead, though we could not derive the full doctrine of the Trinity from this brief creed. The same is true of the Apostle’s Creed, but it is significant, nonetheless, as a statement of belief of the early church. So, let’s affirm the Apostles’ Creed together. By the way, when this creed speaks of the “catholic” church, it means the universal church – it is not referring to the Roman Catholic Church, but rather to all true Christ-followers, those who have been saved by grace through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus’ death on the cross. So, having clarified that, let’s stand and quote this creed.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
All of God: Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity - small group study # 1
OK, I have decided to publish the series our church is conducting about the Trinity. Our church (Grace Community Church) has recently begun a series titled: All of God: Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity We are studying this topic both during the Sunday morning services and during our small group studies that meet throughout the week. I will include all of the studies here - both Sunday morning messages (though, again, the recorded version is better - go to: http://www.graceccnc.org/) and the small group studies. For the small group studies, I will include some of the leader's notes to give you a better feel for what we are learning. This way, GCC family, if you miss the Home Fellowship, you can catch up here, though it will be a little behind the "real-time" schedule.
I have included the title of the series in the title of this post. In the future, I will simply put "The Trinity - Small Group Study #1" or, "The Trinity - Sermon # 2" in the title of the post. In case there are newcomers, I will include a short explanation in the first paragraph of the post (you can skip that part if you are a regular).
Most of the feedback I receive about this blog comes outside the comments posted at this site. I receive them in person, by phone, or via e-mail (which you may always choose if you want to communicate privately - see the January 14 post for information). If you want to interact about the Trinity, though, feel free to respond at this site and I will interact with the feedback in this forum.
Having said all of that, here are the first week's small group questions (for the week of January 11) with comments:
All of God:
Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity
Introduction, Week of January 11, 2009
Ø The Trinity. Three in one. Three persons, one substance (or, essence). Unexplainable, and yet, we try. Give your best shot at explaining this important Christian doctrine.
What do you know about the Trinity? It is quite a difficult doctrine, yet an absolutely essential doctrine of the Christian faith. Three persons, one essence – Hebrews 1:3 is a good place to go – Jesus was clearly separate from God the Father, yet according to this verse, He was the exact imprint of God’s nature – He had the exact same essence as God because He was God.
Ø Can you give some examples in Scripture that support the doctrine of the Trinity? Take time as a group to discuss some of the passages you find. (e.g., the baptism of Jesus – Matthew 3:13-17)
After you have thought about places in the NT that show us that God is three, yet one, consider these passages: Matthew 28:19 – the earliest formulation of the Trinity; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Acts 5:1-11 – in verse 3, Peter accused Ananias of lying to the Holy Spirit, and in verse 4 Peter said that he had not lied to men, but to God; Mark 2:1-12 – you will get it; John 14:1-14
Ø The Old Testament is quite clear that there is one God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and the God who interacts with His people through His word. Does the New Testament make the claim that God is one? If so, how can this be reconciled with a belief that God is seen as Father, Son, and Spirit?
OT: Deuteronomy 6:4 (through v 9, but especially v 4); 1 Kings 8:59-60; Isaiah 45:5-6
NT: John 17:3; 1 Timothy 2:5; Romans 3:29-30; James 2:19 – we reconcile it, for now, by acknowledging that Scripture teaches “one” and “three in one,” and we can only accept this as a mystery. Our understanding will increase as we proceed through this study.
Ø Most of us tend to think of God as “one” or as “three” rather than “three in one.” Why do you think we have this tendency? What we do to adjust/improve the way we think about and worship God?
It is extremely difficult to get our minds around, isn’t it? It is much easier to think of one or the other, but we are called to believe in the Trinity.
Ø What questions do you have about the Trinity that you would like to have answered during this series?
I have included the title of the series in the title of this post. In the future, I will simply put "The Trinity - Small Group Study #1" or, "The Trinity - Sermon # 2" in the title of the post. In case there are newcomers, I will include a short explanation in the first paragraph of the post (you can skip that part if you are a regular).
Most of the feedback I receive about this blog comes outside the comments posted at this site. I receive them in person, by phone, or via e-mail (which you may always choose if you want to communicate privately - see the January 14 post for information). If you want to interact about the Trinity, though, feel free to respond at this site and I will interact with the feedback in this forum.
Having said all of that, here are the first week's small group questions (for the week of January 11) with comments:
All of God:
Exploring the Mystery of the Trinity
Introduction, Week of January 11, 2009
Ø The Trinity. Three in one. Three persons, one substance (or, essence). Unexplainable, and yet, we try. Give your best shot at explaining this important Christian doctrine.
What do you know about the Trinity? It is quite a difficult doctrine, yet an absolutely essential doctrine of the Christian faith. Three persons, one essence – Hebrews 1:3 is a good place to go – Jesus was clearly separate from God the Father, yet according to this verse, He was the exact imprint of God’s nature – He had the exact same essence as God because He was God.
Ø Can you give some examples in Scripture that support the doctrine of the Trinity? Take time as a group to discuss some of the passages you find. (e.g., the baptism of Jesus – Matthew 3:13-17)
After you have thought about places in the NT that show us that God is three, yet one, consider these passages: Matthew 28:19 – the earliest formulation of the Trinity; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Acts 5:1-11 – in verse 3, Peter accused Ananias of lying to the Holy Spirit, and in verse 4 Peter said that he had not lied to men, but to God; Mark 2:1-12 – you will get it; John 14:1-14
Ø The Old Testament is quite clear that there is one God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and the God who interacts with His people through His word. Does the New Testament make the claim that God is one? If so, how can this be reconciled with a belief that God is seen as Father, Son, and Spirit?
OT: Deuteronomy 6:4 (through v 9, but especially v 4); 1 Kings 8:59-60; Isaiah 45:5-6
NT: John 17:3; 1 Timothy 2:5; Romans 3:29-30; James 2:19 – we reconcile it, for now, by acknowledging that Scripture teaches “one” and “three in one,” and we can only accept this as a mystery. Our understanding will increase as we proceed through this study.
Ø Most of us tend to think of God as “one” or as “three” rather than “three in one.” Why do you think we have this tendency? What we do to adjust/improve the way we think about and worship God?
It is extremely difficult to get our minds around, isn’t it? It is much easier to think of one or the other, but we are called to believe in the Trinity.
Ø What questions do you have about the Trinity that you would like to have answered during this series?
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