Trinity

John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Pray

Some people are not comfortable with mystery today. I would define mystery as knowing something exists, but not really being able to define it. We like to know things. We like to understand everything and we like to be able to explain everything. We really desire everything to be like math. We know that 2+2=4. We like to plan things. In order to plan things there has to be an order to it. If I do x and y then the outcome is z.

This is helpful and beneficial through most of life because we need this order to get through the day. For instance, the sun comes up around 6 and the sun goes down around 830. Those things are helpful and they let us line out our days and make the best use of our time, but there are things that we just have to know are there that we really can’t explain.

The most obvious of these things that we all get a taste of is love. Why is it that one person is drawn and loved by another? How is it that you love someone? What is love? If I were to define it, my definition might be different than yours, but it exists and we all know that it exists.

What about gravity? What is it? We have formulas that explains what it does but we don’t know what it is. In what other area of your life can you spin a ball and things stay on the surface of that ball. The earth works the absolute opposite of how we know that part of physics works, but we know that it holds us to the ground, not how or why, but it just…..does.

This gets us to our topic for today, the Trinity. I am hoping in 35 minutes or so to give you a basic idea of this mystery. I am taking this time to do this today because we believe at Community that the Father is God and the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God and that those three are one being of God.

This is the consistent view of the church since the beginning but it really wasn’t defined until much later. I am going to use the definition of the Trinity from the Westminster Confession of Faith as,

“I. There is but one only, ; living, and true God; who is infinite in being and perfection; a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for, His own glory, most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, and withal, most just, and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.

III. In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, the Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.”

I’m sure that clears it up for you. HAHA. This word, “Trinity” is not used any time in the bible, but we find the trinitarian unity throughout Scripture. The word Trinity means, how we use it in the church, three in one.

You may be saying, ”Zach, I thought we only worshiped one God.” We do. It is one God in three distinct persons. How can one God be three? The answer, “I don’t know.” ……But the bible teaches this concept.

One of the key passages, there are several, is John 1:1 which we read earlier. Let’s take a look at it.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Who is this Word? Jesus. This text says that Jesus was in the beginning, with God and was GOD. Not “a god” as the Jehovah’s Witness believe, not just a prophet as the Muslims believe, but God. The one true God.

Side note, any person or “church” taking away the deity of Christ is preaching a false Gospel. Do not believe them. We have too many Scriptural examples of Him deserving that title for it to be stripped away.

The text says that Jesus is the creator of all things and nothing was made that wasn’t made by Him.

All of creation worships Jesus because He made all of creation. We see a glimpse of His creative power in Genesis. Genesis 1:26

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

There is a plurality within the one God that is on display in this verse.

Psalm 33:6 says plainly,

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

This is the mouth and the breath of Jesus.

If we continue in the John text of today. John says of Jesus,

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

This passage says that in Jesus is life. In the Old Testament it says that God is life. Deuteronomy 30:15-16

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

This life is only possible through the second member of the Godhead, Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God as John says. He is the commandments of God. He is the statutes and the rules of God. In Jesus, all of those things are fulfilled.

Jesus is the light of God. In Psalm 119:105, David writes of God.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

This is the light and the Word of God mentioned in one passage. Jesus fulfills both of those things.

There are many references to God’s light in the Old Testament and John puts a name to that light. It is Jesus. Isaiah 9:2

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Psalm 43:3 (ESV)

Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!

Proverbs 6:23 (ESV)

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

Psalm 56:13 (ESV)

For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

We could go on about the light and life of God in the Old Testament. John testifying that it is Jesus points to the fact that He was there with the Father for all eternity.

John is really making the case for Jesus’ deity, not only does he come right out and say it but also backs it up with other references. Continuing in John 1.

John 1:6-8

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

This forerunner for for Jesus was not a knew idea cooked up in the Apostle’s brain.

Isaiah 40:3

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; (That is Yahweh, God) make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Not only is John going to tell you but he is going to show you that Jesus is God by all available metrics.

John continues in verse 9.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Who has the power to make someone the heir of a kingdom? The king. We see God being the only one that does this in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 4:20

But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.

Giving someone the right to become a child of God is only a gift God can give. You can’t find a kid and say, “You now are the child of Zach and Krysta.” You have no right to make a child part of my family, only Krysta and I have that ability to adopt someone as a child. Through the God-man Jesus people are able to be adopted as sons and daughters of God.

And just in case you didn’t get it, John makes it extra clear.

14 And the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”)

Real quick for all of you bible readers. Who was older John or Jesus? John. He was about 6 months older than Jesus. So we know that Jesus is not talking about age on the earth. He is talking about before the existence of the earth.

16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he (Jesus) has made him (The Father) known.

Hebrews says of Jesus,

Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

The evidence is overwhelming that Jesus is God. You may be saying, “Well, everyone else said that He was God but did Jesus really say He was God.” There are a lot of “scholars” that say Jesus never said such a thing.

There is a saying that goes, “If you think you know everything about the bible, by all means, do not read the bible.” When a “scholar” says something that sounds blatantly false, it is most likely the case that it is.

Jesus, John 10:37-38

If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

John 8:54–58 ESV

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.’ 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. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

John 4:25–26 ESV

The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

Mark 2:27–28 ESV

And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

John 5:17–18 ESV

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

We could go on with other writers proving this point but I think you get the picture. Jesus is God. The Father is God. It is plainly stated in the Scripture. You may say, “well that is only two, Zach. You said there were three.”

The third part of the Godhead is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a thing it is a person.

John 15:26 (ESV)

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

Acts 13:2 (ESV)

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

The Holy Spirit talks. He says things. He leads.

1 Corinthians 2:10–11 (ESV)

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

He has jobs to do and He is the Spirit of God and He has a mind.

Ephesians 4:30 (ESV)

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

He has emotions.

The Spirit has attributes of God. Romans 8:2

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Only God is the giver of life. Abundant life, spiritual life, eternal life all come from God, but this text is saying that it comes through the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 40:13–14 (ESV)

Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

He has knowledge just like the Father. He is all knowing like the Father. He is everywhere all at once like the Father.

Psalm 139:7–8 (ESV)

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

Nehemiah 9:20 says, “You gave your good Spirit to instruct them.” And Psalm 143:10 says, “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” According to these two passages, the Holy Spirit is good. Now, Jesus had something specific to say about this in Mark 10:18. “Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.’” So, according to Jesus, only God is good. The Spirit is called “good.” Thus, the Spirit is God.

Hebrews 9:14 (ESV)

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Who else is eternal besides the Father and the Son? The Spirit.

To try and go into the depths of this topic this morning is futile at best, but seeing the Scriptural evidence we have to affirm that the Father, the Son and the Spirit are all God, not separate but co-equal, co-eternal being.

You may ask, “Zach, I am bored to tears, how does this help me?”

It is important for us to worship correctly. Each part of the God-head has it’s own duties and each part of the Trinity deserves its honor. If we are living in our Christian life daily, we are interacting with each part.

The clearest example is when we pray. How do we pray? You may say, “Well I talk to God.” That is true but Scripture says that it is by the Spirit that we pray. We pray from the Spirit that dwells inside us to the Father that is above us in the name of the Son that died for us. The Spirit gives us the words and Romans 8:26 says,

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

That prayer goes to the Father through the Son who makes us worthy to approach the throne of God.

When we show our new life in Christ through the waters of baptism, what does Jesus say that we are baptised in. The name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus wants us to have our new life in the fulness of God. We must acknowledge and worship the fulness of truth that God offers us.

Our sanctification, or our becoming more like Jesus, comes from the Spirit of God that dwells inside of us. When I prepare my sermon and I preach it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that any of you receive anything. When you are talking with someone about the Lord and you say something that pops in your head and you wonder where it came from, that is the Holy Spirit giving you the words to say when you need them.

It is a beautiful relationship within the Trinity and we are beneficiaries of its goodness and power as we trust Christ, through the power of the Spirit, to make us righteous before the Father.