Salvation: The Triune God in Action
Foundations Series • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Last week we looked at this idea of the Triune God. One God, who exists eternally as three equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We also considered some of God’s attributes: loving, just, infinite, holy, worthy of worship.
From that time together we spent time asking God to give us a fresh sense of the awesomeness of God.
This week, we are going to continue looking at the Triune God, and understand I pray with more clarity the persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So I’m curious, how would you describe the Father, Son, and Spirit, or any of the three?
Let’s hear some descriptions for:
the Father
and Son
and Holy Spirit
Essential Truths: PAOC SOEt Commentary (Context)
The doctrine of the Trinity [is not a] a logical puzzle, but [undergirds] the reality of salvation and our relationship with God. The doctrine recognizes God the Father, reaching out through the Son and the Spirit, to save the world out of love (John 3:5, 16; 2Cor 13:14).
Salvation is the act of the Triune God.
Sometimes we get caught up in isolating the Father to the Old Testament. He’s the angry one whose always judging people. We know Jesus does the saving work, but then different false teachings come along that we struggle to combat and it can start to distort our understand of God the Son. Then we look at the Spirit and go, “what do we do with this?” So as we work through Scripture, the goal is to understand how God the Father, Son, and Spirit all have a role in creating, saving, and eternity. This is not to say that somehow the Father only has some of the attributes of God, and the Son only has some, and the Spirit only has some. All are fully God, and there is only one God. As we go along today, we’re going to get a better picture of how Father, Son, and Spirit work together - how they function. The biggest thing I pray we see is the amazing it is that God the Father reaches out through the Son and Spirit to save the world.
The Father
The Father
So as we get into this idea of different primary roles, we start first with a look at the primary roles of the Father.
From the SOET: The Father accomplishes his plan of salvation through both redemption and judgement. All things will be subject to him, and his kingdom will have no end.
Again as we look at these ideas our SOET puts forward, we remember that these are ideas from Scripture. This is simply a summing up of what we find in Scripture. Therefore, if we are to believe this as the truth, we are going to do so because Scripture tells us it is so. So, we’re going to go back to Scripture and understand how Scripture presents the Father.
Often we think of God the Father as the grumpy one - who’s always bringing down fire or passing judgement or something of that nature. Certainly we see God’s judgement and wrath. Yet we also see demonstrated the Father’s great love. Look with me at Ex 6:6:
Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
So we see that God accomplishes the plan for saving the Israelites both by stretching out His hand to redeem them, and also by great acts of judgement. The judgements God sends on Egypt are justified punishment for the them. Yet through those judgements God frees His people. But even within this judgement God does not totally destroy the Egyptians. Instead He allows them to see the power of the Living God - so that they might repent and turn to Him. For the most part this didn’t happen, but some did!
Romans 1:16-20 explains - as the SOET commentary notes - what God has done for humanity in Christ.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
So we see that God has given us the gospel - the power of God to redeem from sin and death all who believe, regardless of race. Yet also God’s wrath is clearly seen against sin and unrighteousness. But within that wrath is shown to the ungodly the power and might of the Creator. This reveals to them their need for a Saviour, and redemption that they cannot get on their own.
To affect salvation, we see that:
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
So we see the Father working to affect salvation for us, through both redemption and judgement. As the redeemed we look forward ultimately to what? Our hope of living in eternity with our God, with this world and its trials passed away. Scripture shows us that God will have all things subject to Him, and the kingdom of our God will have no end!
The Father rules over all, and all things will be subject to Him. Jesus - the Son, will rule eternally with the Father over God’s Kingdom as Eph 1 20 notes:
that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
Yet, as Heb 2 8 tells us
Hebrews 2:8 (ESV)
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.
Certainly the Father remains in control over His creation, yet for a time He allows evil to remain that humanity might repent and turn to Him. But His kingdom is coming in its fullness soon, and when it does nothing will be left that is not fully subjected to the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ.
So Scripture shows us that ‘The Father accomplishes his plan of salvation through both redemption and judgement. All things will be subject to him, and his kingdom will have no end.” We can clearly see these primary roles of the Father in Scripture. To plan Salvation, exercising redemption and judgement. He is also the ruler of all. How then does He relate to the Son? What are the Son’s primary roles?
The Son
The Son
How then does Christ accomplish the Father’s salvation plan?
From the SOET:
The Father sent the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Mary when she was a virgin. Jesus became fully human while remaining fully God.
Anointed by the Spirit, Jesus revealed the Father and the kingdom of God by his sinless life, teaching, and miracles. After he died for our sin, God raised him from the dead, and he is now at the right hand of the Father.
There can be a lot of false teaching surrounding the person and work of Jesus Christ. Little wonder. If Satan can mess up our fundamental understanding of Jesus Christ, He can grossly distort the gospel message and lead people badly astray. Some religions, such as Mormonism, contend that Jesus Christ was a procreation of the Father. They further believe that Jesus, as a completely separate being from the Father or Spirit, became a god. This is in direct conflict to our confession both that God is ONE God in three persons, neither blending their essence nor dividing it. It is also in direct violation of our belief that Jesus Christ has always been God. Similarly, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus - while the Saviour, is not God at all but merely a man. How do we contend with all these false teachings? What is the truth of Scripture?
The truth found in Scripture is that Jesus Christ is both fully God, and fully man. He is the second person of the Trinity. As we have discussed last week and proclaim from Deut 6:4
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
We have One God, who exists eternally in three persons. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ did come, and was born of the virgin Mary. Contrary to some belief, God did not have sex with Mary and therefore procreate in the natural sense a baby.
Rather, as we are told in Luke 1 35
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
He therefore was conceived by the miraculous agency of the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb. The Father’s plan to send the Son, and the Son’s submission to the will of the Father demonstrate their unity. Yet He has been and always will be fully God, as John 1 1 tells us:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jesus Christ is fully God, having existed for all eternity. Yet God the Son chose to step into human form.
Jesus Christ is therefore fully God, AND fully man, having all the fullness of God in Him as Scripture tells us, and being incarnate. This word itself - incarnate - means God in the flesh. As Matthew 1:23 notes: Christ is “Immanuel - God with us.”
When Jesus became incarnate - or God in flesh - He chose for a time to put aside some of His divine abilities. This does not make Him less God, but rather He chose to limit Himself while He walked this earth. Therefore, He is our example of living life empowered by and dependant on the Holy Spirit. Christ lived a Spirit-filled life!
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness
He was anointed by the Spirit, as we see at His baptism in John 1:32
And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
Scripture bears witness to the truth of Christ’s anointing by the Holy Spirit. Moreover, through Jesus we know the Father, and have seen Him. This demonstrates yet again the unity of our ONE God in Trinity.
If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Of course, we proclaim as well - and we will get to this in later messages - the truth Scripture proclaims about the salvation that God the Father planned, and God the Son carried out as the will of His Father. In fact, the Gospel message is all about the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Rom 4 25
who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
The Triune God’s salvation plan - which included the sending of God the Son in human flesh to atone for our sin and make us right with God demonstrates this core fact: God is for us! God loves us, and for those who place their faith Jesus, there is hope eternal.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit
Ok, so we’ve taken a look at the Father and the Son. But what is the role of the Holy Spirit? Well, His primary roles are to give life, draw people to repentance, and shape us more into the image of Christ. He is our Paraclete - or helper. He is sent from the Father, through the Son, to us as believers and disciples of Jesus Christ.
From the SOET: The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son and gives life throughout creation. The Spirit draws people to repentance and new life in Jesus Christ. Through the Spirit’s indwelling, the Father and the Son are present to all believers, making them children of God.
Are these things we see demonstrated in Scripture?
Well, first a foremost, we understand the Holy Spirit to proceed from the Father, through the Son.
Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
So the work we see happening at Pentecost, as the Spirit comes upon the believers in Acts 2:4 is truly the work of the Triune God! Christ received the promise of the Holy Spirit, and now pours out the Spirit of God upon us.
The amazing thing about the Holy Spirit is that He gives life not just to us, but Scripture demonstrates throughout all of creation. We see Him present - hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2. Psalm 104 30 tell us:
When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
Romans 8:23 tells us that:
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
So we see that the Holy Spirit brings life. Not only that but having received the firstfruits of the Spirit’s work, we are waiting for God to complete His work and restore all creation.
From this life giving stance, we see the Holy Spirit drawing us to repentance, for it is only by God’s grace that we can have a changed heart - a heart that is filled with life again. The Spirit of God does this work.
John 16 8 tells us:
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
These are Jesus’ words about how - even though it seemed counterintuitive to have Jesus leave the disciples, it was actually to their benefit. For then the Paraclete, or Helper, would come. Clearly we see the Holy Spirit doing the convicting work, and working life-change. Yet we know the Spirit is also poured out upon us and empowers us to testify to the good news.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The Holy Spirit empowers us for witness. This is a key part of the role of the Holy Spirit that we will touch on in greater detail later. But the reality for us as believers is that the Holy Spirit - God’s Spirit, indwells us. He makes known to us the presence of the Father and the Son, and we become children of God!
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
1 John 3:24 in particular shows us how - in no uncertain terms - the Holy Spirit’s presence and work in vital to the Christian life. We know the presence of the Father and the Son through the indwelling presence of the Spirit. This should speak to us again of the awesome reality of our ONE God! The Holy Spirit is fully God, and therefore can the full presence of God to us! As Romans 8:11 tells us:
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
How amazing is this!? We have the fullness of God’s Spirit dwelling in us! Not a junior version, but the Spirit of God - the very same that raised Christ - dwells in us now. This is a beautiful honour and gift.
So in the end, we believe that the Spirit breathes life to us and creation because Scripture demonstrates this truth. We also believe that the Spirit does the work of bring people to repentance because our Lord told us it is so. We see in Scripture how from the Father, through the Son, the Spirit of God goes forth to each and every believer. Young, old, male, female, regardless of race or heritage. For anyone who accepts Jesus as Lord and Saviour to Holy Spirit comes into them and abides in them. And He empowers them to be witnesses, as we were commanded by Jesus!
Conclusion
Conclusion
Salvation is the act of the Triune God
Go out and tell one person this week about Jesus. Come back and place a stick note on the board. We’re going to pray for them.