Why are you a Southern Baptist? Part 2

Explaining the triune nature of God is a daunting task that no man can completely explain, and God tells us why. (Isa. 55:8-9)

Isaiah 55:8–9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God is beyond our intellectual capacity to completely comprehend the Holy Trinity, but the essential truth is this as stated in the Baptist Faith and Message.

“There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.”

There is one God who reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is God the Father. He is God the Son, and He is God the Holy Spirit, but He is not three gods. He is one God with a triune nature.

Let’s examine the Trinity with the full admission by me at the beginning. I cannot fully comprehend the Trinity and cannot completely explain the nature of the Trinity, but where my knowledge and comprehension is limited, my faith is not as I have complete faith in God.

A. GOD THE FATHER

God reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and over the flow of human history according to the purposes of His grace.

Nothing ever catches God off-guard. He all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and all-wise.

Exodus 3:14 “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

1 Timothy 1:17 “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Ephesians 4:6 “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

It is God who is sovereign. It is God who created the fish that swallowed Jonah. It was God who made the sun stand still. It is God who calmed the stormy sea, but even Christians at times have trouble coming to grips with God’s sovereignty. Do we not?

Before you say no, consider this.

Have you ever wondered why something happened to you? If you have, who are you questioning? Did you know if you are saved, God has made a promise to you.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Bad things happen on this planet. Bad things happen to you and me because of sin, not necessarily my sin or your sin but because of sin, but God has promised me in His sovereignty that because I love Him and have placed my faith and trust in Him that everything in my life is going to work together for good according to His purpose for my life, but we sometimes just cannot wrap our arms around that promise. Can we?

Do you know another area in which we question God’s sovereignty?

Romans 13:1–2 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.”

If God exists outside of time, and He does, and if God according to His grace is sovereign over the stream of history, and He is, how could anyone come to power that God did not allow to come to power?

Now, why have some evil men been allowed to come to power? I do not know, and I will never know except for what the Bible says about it.

Revelation 11:15 “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

The kingdoms of this world are going to belong to God, and the stream of history is moving in that direction today when it comes to the governing authorities, and that stream will eventually flow by the most evil leader the world has ever known, but it is all according to God’s plan.

If you try, in your human limitations, to understand the complexities of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will, you will end up in a straight jacket, but just rest assured in this fact. It is God who is sovereign.

Most importantly for my eternal destiny, God is the engineer of my salvation.

My salvation is a gift from the God of the universe. (Rom. 6:23)

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

It is God who planned my salvation, and it is God who delivered my salvation through Jesus Christ, and I would not have been, and you will not be saved apart from God choosing you.

Ephesians 1:4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”

John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

If you think you can be saved at your discretion and your bidding, you are wrong. Yes, you can be saved at anytime as long as God draws you to that salvation. God’s plan was engineered in the council halls of eternity past.

Romans 8:32 “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

Revelation 13:8 “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

God knew before the stars started twinkling that only He could save man from man’s free will, so He sent His Son to die so man in His free will would respond to God’s call.

B. GOD THE SON

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He is God incarnate. He is God in the flesh.

Jesus was conceived of the HOLY SPIRIT and born of the VIRGIN, Mary.

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And shall call his name Immanuel.”

Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

God is the engineer of our salvation, and Jesus is the architect of that salvation. Jesus Christ is the gospel.

Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;”

While on earth, Jesus completely revealed and did the will of God. It was God who sent Him. God took upon Himself human nature with its demands and identified Himself completely with mankind yet without sinning.

He was the Lamb without blemish because He was God and because He was not born under the curse of Adam. Because He was God and because He was Man free from Adam’s curse, He could be the architect of our salvation.

Hebrews 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

1 Peter 1:18–20 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,”

It is a principle established in God’s Word from the very beginning. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. As a result, from the foundation of the world, God knew that He would have to manifest Himself in the flesh to be the lamb without blemish in order to shed His precious blood for man’s sins.

It is the blood of God Incarnate who redeems the lost sinner.

Acts 20:28 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”

Recently, I have said often that you cannot know God apart from Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who makes God knowable. (1 Peter 1:21)

1 Peter 1:21 “Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”

Jesus Christ makes it possible for you to believe in and to know God. Jesus was completely obedient to God’s will, and by His substitutionary death on Calvary, He purchased and redeemed me. He had to die, but He is not dead today because God raised Him from the dead.

Romans 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Acts 2:32–33 “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”

After 40 days, Jesus ascended into Heaven and is now at the right hand of God where He is our Mediator, fully God and fully man, reconciling God and man.

Hebrews 7:25 “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Job 9:32–33 “For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, And we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman(MEDIATOR) betwixt us, That might lay his hand upon us both.”

Jesus reconciled man to God, and only He could do it because Jesus is God, and Jesus is Man. He died, yet He is alive today. He is the First and the Last, and He will return one of these days to receive unto Him those whom He has reconciled, and seven years after that, He will return as King of Kings to establish His earthly reign. AMEN!!!!!

Philippians 2:9–11 “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

C. GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

God the Father is the engineer of our salvation. God the Son is the architect of our salvation, and God the Spirit is the contractor who completes our salvation.

Ephesians 1:13–14 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

The Holy Spirit is given to you when you are saved. He is like the down payment for your future glory. Paul calls Him the earnest of our inheritance. It is the Holy Spirit who is the promise of our future redemption.

A mistake many make is denying the deity of the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is just much God as the Father and Son. As a matter of fact, sin against the Holy Spirit will seal your destiny in Hell. Stay with me because you will be confused if you don’t. Look at what the Bible says.

Matthew 12:31–32 “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

As the engineer of our salvation, as far as God the Father is concerned, I was saved before the foundation of the world when He crafted His plan and chose me. (Eph.1:3-4)

Ephesians 1:3–4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”

That’s why God covered Adam. God had chosen Adam, and God had a plan in place that would take care of Adam’s sin.

As the architect of our salvation, as far as God the Son is concerned, I was saved on Calvary when He died in my place for my sins. (Col. 2:13-14)

Colossians 2:13–14 “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”

However, I am not saved, as far as the Holy Spirit is concerned, until I respond to the Holy Spirit convicting me.

John 16:7–11 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”

It is the Holy Spirit that reveals to you the dire straits in which your sin has placed you. It is the Holy Spirit that reveals to you what God has done to cover your sin, and if you sin against that with your rejection,you have no hope, and because you will have rejected the Holy Spirit, judgment will be severe, and no one walking on planet earth knows how many times God will allow you to sin against the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 29:1 “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, Shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

That verse explains perfectly why you should not boast of tomorrow and why today is the day of salvation. The Spirit of God will not always strive with man, and you might reject Him once, twice, three times, but suddenly you will be destroyed without remedy. You will be sealed in your spiritual deadness.

Here is the best way to explain, and I will use me, but you can substitute your name.

As far as God is concerned, Jimmy Clendenin was saved before the foundation of the world when God chose me. As far as God the Son is concerned, I was saved when He died in my place on the cruel cross of Calvary. As far as the Holy Spirit is concerned, I was saved in the Spring of 1979 at Mount Vernon Baptist Church when in my free will I responded to the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

We said last week that the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Bible to pen the Scriptures, but here is a ministry of the Holy Spirit that we often overlook.

It is the Holy Spirit who effects regeneration and who baptizes every believer into the body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12:13-14)

1 Corinthians 12:13–14 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”

I say this often but there is only one Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation as the lost sinner is regenerated.

The Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the body of Christ. You can be saved and not be water baptized, even though you should be if possible in obedience, but you are not saved if you have not been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ.

It is at that moment of regeneration that the Holy Spirit indwells and seals the believer unto the day of redemption.

Ephesians 4:30 “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

1 John 4:13 “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”

Dear friend. I have just scratched the surface regarding the Trinity. No one can can ever fully comprehend the triunity of God. We will one day but not now. We do not worship three gods. We worship one God. One God who is Father, Son, and Spirit.