The Trinity in Salvation

Text: Colossians 1:15-23 & Heb. 1:1-5

Introduction/Recap

Recap brief overview of Provenance and Context of Colossians (1 min)

Recap brief overview of last sermon (1 min)

What pleases God? Living in light of the Gospel.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Colossians 1; we’ll be starting in verse 15.

Introduction: Have you ever spoken with a Jehovah’s Witness or a Mormon? Could you explain what the differences are between what we believe and what they believe?

If you remember from last week, the main reason that Paul is writing this letter to the Church at Colossae is because a false belief was threatening their church. So, it’s not surprising to see that before Paul delves into refuting the false beliefs, he first summarizes good, Biblical doctrine concerning God and the gospel.

This is really important for us today. This sermon isn’t going to be like my typical sermons. It’s going to be a lot more theology-heavy than my typical sermons, so I hope you’re well caffeinated because what we’re going to look at today is more meat than milk.

Don’t worry about taking notes, because I’ve uploaded my sermon handout to the internet, so all of the information you might want is there for you to just download on your phone.

I’m not going to make apologies for this being doctrine-heavy, though, because our doctrine can make the difference between saving faith and a false gospel that cannot save, as we’re going to see today.

A.W. Tozer, who was one of the foremost Christian scholars and writers of the early 1900’s, said this:

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.

—A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperCollins, 1978), 1.

Tozer said this was true because both individuals and churches tend to become like what they think God is like.

So, what is God like? Why are we not Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses?

In Colossians 1:15-23, Paul gives us a concise but weighty explanation of the character and nature of God in Christ and shows how it has some massive ramifications for our understanding of God and our salvation. We’re really going to be focusing on the parts of this passage that relate to the nature of God and the person of Christ, so there’s a lot in this passage that we won’t get to today.

So read along with me in your Bibles:

Colossians 1:15–23 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

There is another passage in Scripture which is remarkably similar to this passage, Hebrews 1. In fact, most scholars think that the book of Hebrews is actually a transcription of a sermon, and it’s my belief that the first part of Hebrews 1 is probably an exposition of this passage here in Colossians, along with other similar passages. So, before we move on, let’s take a quick look at the first few verses in Hebrews 1:

Hebrews 1:1–4 ESV

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 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, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Prayer for Illumination

Transition:

Colossians 1, along with its parallel in Hebrews 1, contains some of the deepest and fullest explanations in Scripture of the nature of God and the Trinity. So, in order to fully understand this passage and lay a solid foundation for the rest of the book, we need to first expound the doctrine of the Trinity.

First, we’re going to look at this passage in depth, along with Heb. 1, and lift out the Biblical truths to build a theology of the Trinity. As we do that, I’ll also talk about some of the threats to this doctrine that we see in the world around us today.

Then, we’re going to look at what the primary point of this passage is: that the Triune God was working in unity to accomplish our redemption.

Building a theology of the Trinity

Brick #1: The Son is God.

This passage says many things about Jesus that are only true of God.

Jesus is described as the Creator and sustainer of both the physical and spiritual universe (vv. 16-17).

Colossians 1:16–17 ESV

16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Emphasis on “all things”

“thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities” are categories in extrabiblical Jewish writings for different types of angelic beings.

Jesus is described as pre-existent (v. 17) and eternal (Heb. 1:12).

Colossians 1:17 ESV

17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Hebrews 1:10–12 ESV

10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12 like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”

Jesus is described as having the same character and nature as God himself (v. 19; Heb. 1:3).

Colossians 1:19 ESV

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

Hebrews 1:3 ESV

3 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 Son is said to be God (Heb. 1:8)

Hebrews 1:8 ESV

8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

If Jesus isn’t God, these statements would be blasphemy.

In fact, statements implying Jesus’ divinity are what ultimately got Jesus crucified by the Jews:

John 8:58 ESV

58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

Challenges to the Divinity of the Son:

Arianism—the heretical belief that the Son is a created being (“there was a time when he was not...”)

Refuted by Athanasius at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.)

Story of Saint Nicholas

As legend has it, in addition to Athanasius, another early church father stood up to Arius’ heresies as well, a name you’ll probably recognize more than Athanasius: Saint Nicholas.

That’s right, long before he was “decking the halls,” Saint Nicholas was decking heretics. Legend has it that when Arius would not stop spouting his heresies, St. Nicholas interrupted him with a slap to the face. (Probably not a full on punch, but who knows!)

While I wouldn’t advise punching heretics, I wouldn’t be opposed to amending a popular Christmas song to make it a little more historically accurate:

“He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows when you’re a heretic, and he’ll punch you in the face!”

Unfortunately, history repeats itself and Arius’ heresy has lived on, embraced by Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Mormons and JW’s both hold a similar heretical belief that God the Son is a created, lesser being than God the Father.

This is dangerous, because we’re talking about differences in how we understand the nature of God himself.

If Jesus is not God, then it would be idolatry to worship him as such.

But Jesus himself claimed equality with God the Father, Paul attributes to him attributes that are only true of God alone, and even the Old Testament points to some form of plurality within the Godhead.

But, that isn’t all that this passage teaches us about the nature of God. We also learn that...

Brick #2: The Son is NOT the Father.

While stating that Jesus is God, this passage makes a clear distinction between God the Father and God the Son.

When Paul says “God” in this passage, he is following a long-standing pattern of referring to God the Father in shorthand as “God.” (c.f. Col. 1:3)

The clearest distinction between God the Son and God the Father that we see in this passage is in v. 19-20.

The “fullness” (or nature) of God the Father is said to dwell in the Son, implying a distinction.

Colossians 1:19–20 ESV

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

We clearly see God the Father working through God the Son to reconcile the Father’s creation to himself.

This demonstrates that the Father and the Son are distinct. This distinction is also upheld in Hebrews 1:

Hebrews 1:1–2 ESV

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

Christ is also said to be seated at the right hand of the Father:

Hebrews 1:3 ESV

3 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,

Hebrews 1:5 ESV

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?

Challenges to the distinction of persons within the Trinity:

Modalism (i.e. Sabellianism, Noetianism and Patripassianism)

...taught that the three persons of the Trinity as different “modes” of the Godhead. Adherants believed that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not distinct persons, but different modes of God's self-revelation.

A typical modalist approach is to regard God as the Father in creation, the Son in redemption, and the Spirit in sanctification. In other words, God exists as Father, Son and Spirit in different eras, but never as triune.

The “Oneness Pentecostalism” movement

A version of Modalism is embraced by some Pentecostals in the “Oneness Movement.” “The "Jesus Only" movement, also known as Oneness Pentecostalism or oneness theology, teaches that there is only one God, but denies the tri-unity of God. In other words, oneness theology does not recognize the distinct persons of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

It has various forms / modes / manifestations—some see Jesus Christ as the one God, who sometimes manifests Himself as the Father or the Holy Spirit. The core doctrine of Oneness Pentecostal / Jesus Only is that Jesus is the Father and Jesus is the Spirit. There is one God who reveals Himself in different "modes."”

Something that is very important to realize is that followers of this movement see themselves as rejecting what they view as “manmade traditions and creeds” (they’re referring to the doctrine of the Trinity and the Nicene Creed) in favor of what they think is Biblical teaching. But, I hope by now you can see that the Bible does, in fact, teach the doctrine of the Trinity, even if it doesn’t use the word “Trinity.”

This heresy is pretty easily refuted, though, since all three members of the Trinity are present or mentioned separately in several instances in Scripture.

Refuting Modalism:

Mark 1:9–11 ESV

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

If you look back at Col.1:3-8, you’ll actually see all three members of the Trinity mentioned as well.

There are lots of other instances in Scripture, but we don’t have time to look at them all today.

So, Brick #1: The Son is God. Brick #2: The Son is Not the Father. So, there must be three Gods? NO!

Brick #3: There is only one God.

A simple, but deadly wrong, conclusion would simply be Tritheism.

But Scripture is painfully clear that there is one God, so that “solution” doesn’t work, either.

Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Mark 12:29 ESV

29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Isaiah 44:6 ESV

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.

Scripture makes it clear that there is only one true God and that worshipping anyone or anything else is idolatry.

So, how do we make sense of this?

Assembling the Doctrine of the Trinity

There is one and only one true and living God.

This one God eternally exists in three persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

These three persons are completely equal in attributes, each with the same divine nature.

While each person is fully and completely God, the persons are not identical. The differences among Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are found in the way they relate to one another and the role each plays in accomplishing their unified purpose.

Understanding the Doctrine of the Trinity

Common analogies usually result in illustrating one heresy or another.

Eg., “God is like Water, steam, and ice.” Error: Modalism, because all three cannot exist simultaneously (and have different properties/characteristics)

Eg., “God is kind of like a three-leaf clover, or a triangle; one object, but three different, identifiable leaves, or sides” Error: each ‘part’ is not a full expression of the one. One side of the triangle is just that, one side. The side is not a full triangle. However, the Bible tells us that God the Father is fully God, not just a part of God. Of course, the same is true for the Son and the Spirit. This heresy is fittingly called Partialism.

The fact that the nature of God defies our explanations should not alarm us. In fact, it is perfectly reasonable. The God who is powerful enough to speak time and matter into being is not himself bound by the laws of physics he created. God is a spiritual being and, therefore, not bound by the laws of the natural realm. If we stand in speechless wonder at a sunset or a night sky, how much more speechless ought we to be at their Creator!

The Bible gives us enough to outline the parameters of who God is and his Triune nature, without reducing him to less than he is. You cannot explain the unexplainable. You cannot measure the immeasurable.

Now, as you sit there in wonder, or perhaps confusion, try to wrap your mind around this.

Our Triune God worked in unity to accomplish your redemption.

Christ reveals the nature of the Father.

Colossians 1:15 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Colossians 1:19 ESV

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

When we say that “These three persons are completely equal in attributes, each with the same divine nature,” we’re referring to that which makes God God.

The character of the Father is the same as the character of the Son. How one responds to a given situation is the same as the other, though they may carry out different roles in that situation.

The point of these passages is that the Son, Jesus Christ, is the very revelation of God himself.

In times past, God gave laws through a mediator, like Moses, Joshua, or the priests and prophets.

Sometimes, God would speak to someone, and at other times he revealed himself through miracles.

But no one “saw” God. God was invisible to human eyes. Hidden in majesty and glory so profound that seeing God would result in your death.

But then, when Jesus came, mankind was finally able to see God.

John 1:14 ESV

14 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.

What this means for us: The Father is often portrayed as angry or vengeful, while the Son is portrayed as loving and merciful. But, the doctrine of the Trinity—and this passage—show us that there is no division within the Godhead. When we see Christ, we’re seeing the nature of the Father incarnated! When we see Christ showing compassion for the sick and hurting, we’re seeing the Father’s heart. When we see Christ’s wrath against evil, we’re seeing the Father’s wrath against evil.

If you are like many, perhaps your father was not very loving or compassionate. Maybe he was abusive, or ill-tempered, or just not present in your life. And it’s easy to assume that God the Father must be like that. If you view God this way, you’ll keep your distance. You’ll respect him, but love him?

But when we see Jesus’ heart, we see the Father’s heart.

While they share the same nature, the members of the Trinity differ in roles.

Each member of the Trinity has a different role in our redemption.

Colossians 1:21–22 ESV

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

God the Father sent the Son. God the Son willingly came and carried out his Father’s will. And God the Holy Spirit indwells believers and helps them to love and grow in wisdom and understanding.

Colossians 1:8–9 ESV

8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. 9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

All three are working in tandem to “present you holy and blameless and above reproach before [the Father]...”

This, by the way, offers us a model for how to understand how men and women can differ in our roles within the family and the church but still be equal in God’s eyes and of equal value. Just as the members of the Trinity are all three equally God and yet have different roles, so men and women can be equal yet have different roles within marriage and the church.

Just let that sink in. This Triune God, whose very nature defies explanation, is working all things together for your good, to make you holy and blameless in God’s sight.

I don’t usually feel very “holy” or “blameless.” Especially as I think more and more about who God is! When I try to wrap my mind around the Trinity, or how God could simply speak Creation into existence, or how before time began, God existed, I’m reminded of how awesome and holy he is and how sinful and unworthy I am.

And yet, this awesome, holy, Triune God has been working since before I was created to redeem me. How incredible! That God the Father would willingly give up his only Son for me, a rebel! How incredible that God the Son would willingly leave his home in heaven and take my place on that dirty, ugly cross. How incredible that God the Spirit would willingly take up residence in my sinful heart! And yet, that is the hope of the gospel.

We are all born sinners, Colossians 1:21 “21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,” but God has made a way throukgh his Son for us to be reconciled to him and made holy and blameless.

Invitation

You don’t have to fully understand the doctrine of the Trinity or be able to right a theological treatise on it to be saved, but you do have to accept what God has revealed about himself in Scripture, even if it’s beyond your comprehension. And you must willingly submit yourself to this all-powerful, yet infinitely loving, God.

Objection: “But I don’t understand the Trinity, so I’m not sure I believe it.” Augustine rightly pointed out that you’ve got it backwards. The Holy Spirit grants understanding to those who have faith, not the other way around.

Acts 16:30–34 ESV

30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Scripture tells us that judgment is coming one day.

Romans 14:10–12 ESV

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

As the song by the Newsboys reminds us, “Some will kneel as children, some as conquered foes...”

Which one will you be?