God is
Foundations: Our Statement of Faith • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Reading:
Reading:
Genesis 1:1 //Deuteronomy 6:4-9 //Matthew 28:19 // 1 John 5:7
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
Introduction:
Introduction:
Having a faith based view of Scripture requires us to have faith that what we have is truly the word of God.
Our Statement of Faith:
Our Statement of Faith:
Trinity:
We believe there is only one true God, who eternally exists as a Trinity of equally divine persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.(2) Each member of the Trinity thinks, acts, feels, speaks, and relates, because each is a person and not an impersonal force. Each member of the Trinity is equally God, sharing all the divine attributes.(3) Because love and community flow from the Trinity to us through the Holy Spirit, we seek to live in loving community with God and others.
God the Father: We believe in the person of God the Father, an infinite, eternal, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.(4)
God the Son: We believe in the person of Jesus Christ, an infinite, eternal, God-man, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings, His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and personal, visible return to earth.(5)
God the Holy Spirit: We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, an infinite, eternal, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness wisdom, power, and love, who comes forth from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower for ministry all who believe in Jesus Christ.(6) We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide.(7) We believe in the filling of the Holy Spirit as a distinct and separate experience to that of regeneration, occurring either subsequent to or simultaneous with salvation, evidenced by a dynamic transformation in the Christian's life, enabling that person to be a bold and effective witness. The supreme evidence of the Spirit-filled life is the fruit of the Spirit: love. We believe in the present day ministry of the Holy Spirit in regard to the exercise of all biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit according to the instructions given to us.(8)
Defining our terms:
Defining our terms:
The word Trinity is never found in our Bible, however the idea represented by the word is taught in many places throughout the Word. The word Trinity means “tri-unity” or “three-in-oneness.”
We use this word to summarize the teaching we find in the Scriptures, that God is three persons yet one God. And this doctrine has a very important connect with the study of God’s attributes.
[Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer]
When we think of God has eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, and so forth, we may have a tendency to think of God the Father in connection with these attributes. But the Bible teaches us that these attributes are true of all three persons, for each is fully God.
All three are eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, infinitely wise, infinitely holy, infinitely loving, omniscient, and so on.
What we are discussing this morning is one of the most important doctrines of the Christian faith. To study what the Bible teaches on the Trinity gives us great insight into the question that is at th center of all of our seeking after God: What is God like in Himself?
You see here is where we learn that in Himself, in His very being, God exists in the person of Father, Son, Holy Spirit, yet He is one God.
God:
The best definition I believe we have of God, that best suits Him is this… He is simple other.
He is completely other. We get this understanding of “otherness” through the fact that His Word states that He is holy:
11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
Every individual everywhere and throughout time, has a deep, inner sense that God exists, that they are His creatures and that He is their Creator.
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Knew God but did not honor Him has God or give thanks to Him. Paul also states that wicked unbelievers have:
25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Implying that they actively or willfully reject some truth about God’s existence and character that they knew. Paul would also go to say:
19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
In the life of a true believer this inner awareness of God become stronger and more noticeable. We begin to know God as our loving Father in heaven (Romans 8:15), the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16), and we come to know Jesus Christ living within our hearts (Eph. 3:17, Phil 3:8, 10; Col. 1:27; John 14:23). This intensity of this awareness for us believers is such that though we have not seen Jesus Christ our Lord, we love Him deeply:
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
The Trinity:
As we have previously mentioned, the Trinity is what we call God because of His “tri-unity” or His “three-in-oneness.” In a very real sense this doctrine of the Trinity is a mystery that we will never be able to understand fully. With that being said, we can understand something of its truth by rightly exegeting Scripture. This is where we find these three statements:
1) God is three persons:
What this means is that the Father is not the Son, They are distinct persons. It also means that the Father is not the Holy Spirit, but that they are distinct person. And it means that the Son is not the Holy Spirit.
These distinctions are seen in a number of passages. John 1:1-2
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
The Word is seen to be Christ and that become evident in vv. 9-18. The Word was “with” God, shows us distinction from God the Father.
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Jesus speaks t oGod the Father about, “My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” Again what this is showing us is the distinction of persons, sharing of glory, and a relationship of love between the Father and the Son before the world was created.
Lets look at a massage that shows us the distinctions between God the Father and God the Son are not the Holy Spirit.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
One of the most important verses gives us great clarity that the Son and the Spirit are not one in the same, as well as making a Trinitarian claim is:
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
This passage indicates that once Christ finished His earthly ministry He then sent the Holy Spirit to the church. Jesus also said this:
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
You well here different cults and others question whether the Holy Spirit is indeed a distinct person rather than just the “power” or “force” of God at work in the world. The NT is very clear and strong:
4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
2) Each person is fully God:
In addition to the fact that all three persons are distinct, the abundant witness of what Scripture says is that each is fully God as well.
God the Father is clearly God. This is evident from the first verse in the Bible, where God created the heavens and the earth. It is evident through the OT and NT, where God the Father is clearly viewed as sovereign Lord over all and where Jesus prays to His Father in heaven.
The Son is fully God.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Here Christ is referred to as “the Word,” and John says both that He was “with God” and that He “was God.” Here John is echoing the opening words of Genesis 1:1 and reminds us that John is talking about something that was true before the world was made. God the Son was always fully God.
JW’s have changed this verses to say “the Word was a god.” Not to rabbit trial to hard, they ignore a grammatical greek rule that makes God the predicate rather than the subject of the sentence.
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Is another strong proof for the deity of Christ. As well as:
30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
The Holy Spirit is also fully God. Matthew 28:19 is significance for the doctrine of the Holy Spirit because they show that the Holy Spirit is classified on an equal level with the Father and Son. After all we would never say, “We baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the archangel Michael.”
Here are some other verses:
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
God’s temple is the place where God himself dwells, which Paul explains by the fact that “God’s Spirit” dwells in it, thus equating God’s Spirit with God Himself.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
This speaks of the divine characteristic of omnipresence the Holy Spirit has. Note this: this characteristic is not true of any of God’s creatures.
Now if the Bible taught only these two facts, there would be no logical problem at all fitting them together, for the obvious solution would be that there are three Gods. Each fully God and distinct from each other. However the Bible teaches:
3) There is one God:
The Bible is clear that there is one and only one God. Not only are there three different persons of the Trinity one in purpose and in agreement on what they think, but they are also One in essence, one in their essential nature.
Simply put, there are not three Gods, there is only one God.
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
The clear and obvious answer is, “No one.” God is unique. There is no one like Him and there can be no one like Him. Solomon prays:
60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.
God alone is the one true God and there is no one like Him. And when He speaks, He alone is speaking —He isn’t speaking as one God among three who are to be worshiped.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me, 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
21 Tell and bring forth your case;
Yes, let them take counsel together.
Who has declared this from ancient time?
Who has told it from that time?
Have not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.
22 “Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.
7 And who can proclaim as I do?
Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
Since I appointed the ancient people.
And the things that are coming and shall come,
Let them show these to them.
8 Do not fear, nor be afraid;
Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
You are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
Indeed there is no other Rock;
I know not one.’ ”
The NT also affirms this too:
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
Partial revealing in the OT:
Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7; Isaiah 6:8, 38:16, 48:16, 63:10; Psalm 45:6-7, Psalm 110:1; Malachi 3:1-3; Hosea 1:7
More complete revealing in the NT:
Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2; Jude 20-21; 1 John 5:7.
Can we understand the Trinity:
Can we understand the Trinity:
The truth of the matter is that we cannot hope to grasp the infinitude of what the Trinity is. As we will see in a few minutes there is a whole lot of error that comes about when we try to simplify this doctrine.
We cannot simplify something that is truly unknowable. We have to be okay with what God gave us. We can understand and know that God is three persons, and that each person is fully God, and that there is one God.
It is important to know that Scripture isn’t asking you to believe in a contradiction. A contradiction would be “There is one God and there is not one God,” or “God is three persons and God is not three persons,” well how about “God is three persons and God is one person” that would also be a contradiction.
There is no contradiction in, “God is three persons and there is one God.” Here is the real kicker, it’s something we just do not understand, and that is okay. For as long as we are finite beings and not God there will forever be mystery that we simple cannot grasp.
Don’t be unset or disgruntled, It is a blessing that God would reveal Himself to us at all. Let alone that He would save us from our rebellion at all.
Remember family, everything we know about God all the facts of who He is and His character, as been given to us through His revelation. It is a gift to know anything about God.
How can we best explain the trinity?
How can we best explain the trinity?
We cannot really explain it. Because any form of trying to simplify this leads us to some form of heresy.
Error comes by denying one of the three statements:
Error comes by denying one of the three statements:
This comes about when one or more of the three statements we just talked about is denied.
God is three persons
Each person is fully God
There is one God
[Video] Analogies fall short:
Modalism: Claims that there is one person who appears to us in three different forms or modes.
30 I and My Father are one.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Arianism: Denies the full deity of the Son and the Holy Spirit.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
“Only begotten” doesn’t mean created but it means and refers to the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. This view is found an expression in the Nicene Creed in the words, “the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages… begotten, not made.
Subordinationism: Held that the Son was eternal (not created) and divine but still not equal to the Father in being or attributes—The Son was inferior or “subordinate” in being and attributes to God the Father.
Adoptionism: is the view that Jesus lived as an ordinary man until his baptism, but then God “adopted” Jesus as his “Son” and conferred on him supernatural powers.
Why we should care:
Why we should care:
The more I learn about God, the more I desire to know Him. It seems that my love on increases the more I get to know Him.
And He wants fellowship with us. No longer are we held at a distance because of our rebellion and sin. By no means are we left in the dark to try and figure out who God is, His word clearly explains all that we need to know.
Family, being in His Word and living for Him… that is the place to live in and thrive. This is because I… we… were created to worship Him. The mysteries of God and all.
A Psalm of David When He Was in the Wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
6 When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
7 Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
8 My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall fall by the sword;
They shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.
Application:
Application:
The truth of the matter is where doesn’t this apply in our lives?
God in Himself has both unity and diversity, and it isn’t surprising that unity and diversity are on display throughout His creation.
We see this first in the diversity of marriage:
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
also in the unity of marriage:
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
We see it in the family unit. and in the church family as well:
12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
Inside the church we see different people accomplishing the singular mission, by different means.
One day the entire universe will partake of this unity of purpose with every diverse part contributing to the worship of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for one day, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Family the worship of God doesn’t start when we get to heaven… It starts right now.