Who is God? Part 3: God The Creator - Triune

Introduction

J.I. Packer in Knowing God (p.34):

“What makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective, something which catches our imagination and lays hold of our allegiance and this the Christian has in a way that no other person has. For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?”

God himself:

Hosea 6:6 “For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

This week’s focus is upon one of the greatest and most unique aspects of the nature of God: his triunity, God who is one God yet existing as three persons.

One of the most mysterious and difficult doctrines to grasp.

It is also one of the unique aspects of the Christian faith compared to all others.

The doctrine of the Trinity is the differentiating doctrine of the Christian faith.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)

But it is also one of the most, if not THE, most important characteristics of God.

To believe and love the Trinity is to possess the key of theology. “Bread Enough And To Spare”, Volume 17, Sermon #1000 - Luke 15:17

Charles Spurgeon

The Trinity is the basis of the gospel, and the gospel is a declaration of the Trinity in action.

J. I. Packer

There is no gospel if there is no Trinity

So what does it mean to say that God is triune? Obviously there is much to say on this topic, too much to cover in one message.

First we begin again in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

1. There is One God (Deut. 6:4)

The flagship verse of all the OT:

The Hebrew Bible: Andersen-Forbes Analyzed Text Chapter 6

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יהוה אֶחָד׃

Deuteronomy 6:4 NASB95

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!

Isaiah 45:5 “I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me;”

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

God is one being, essence—God is just one “thing”

Early theologians/Christians would use the word “substance”—it is what makes something what it is.

That there is only one God is the basis for the first two commandments:

Exodus 20:3–4 “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.”

To say there is one God means there are no multiple gods. Ancient Roman and Greek mythology are false. Present day renewed interest in this paganism is false.

Also, Hinduism is false with its many gods.

Mormonism is false with its many gods.

As such, we as Christians bow in adoration and worship of the one, true Creator God of the universe.

Psalm 28:7a “The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him.”

Psalm 121:1–2h “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”

Although there is one God in essence, or being, we also see in Scripture that God is three. But he is three in a different sense: Persons.

2. God is Three Persons

We see again from the very beginning of creation a hint of God’s triunity.

The Father (Gen. 1:1)

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

The Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:2; John 14:16-17, 26)

John 14:16–17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

John 14:26 “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 that I said to you.”

The Son (John 1:1-3)

John 1:1–3 “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 came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

Colossians 1:16–17 “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

3. What Does This Mean for Us?

How do we make sense of the Trinity?

Various analogies: avoid them

1) An Egg

An egg consists of a shell, a yolk, and an egg white, yet it is altogether one egg. The three parts create one unified egg. Problem: God cannot be divided into “parts.” The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are one in essence, but this is not true for the shell, yolk, and white of an egg.

(2) Water

The Trinity is like water was a liquid, solid, and gas. These three are different states of the water but are all nonetheless water. Problem: liquid, solid, and gas are actually different states, or modes, in which water exists. Thus, the Trinity is pictures as God changing from the state of Father into the different state as Son, and then from the state of Son into the Spirit.

(3) 3 Leaf Clover

The Trinity is like a three leaf clover: just as the clover is just one clover but has three separate leaves, so there is one God but has three separate persons. Problem: on a 3 leaf clover, the leaves are different parts of the clover and each leaf is not fully the clover. But God as Trinity is not three different parts but persons, and each person is fully God.

Best to think and speak of God as the earlier creeds stated it

Nicene Creed:

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,       the only Son of God,       begotten from the Father before all ages,            God from God,            Light from Light,            true God from true God,       begotten, not made;       of the same essence as the Father.

Athanasius, 4th century Christian and theologian, played a primary role in the Council of Nicea:

Athanasian Creed Now this is the [universal Christian] faith:

That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,     neither blending their persons     nor dividing their essence.         For the person of the Father is a distinct person,         the person of the Son is another,         and that of the Holy Spirit still another.         But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,         their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.

The finite will never fully grasp the infinite

What We Can Understand

We can grasp the three persons of God by identifying the different work each person performs.

Examples: Jesus’ baptism, Father sends Son, it is the Son who becomes a man and is the sacrifice for sin, Spirit regenerates and empowers

How Do We Interact With Our Triune God?

We interact with Him as a personal being

The ultimate fact about the universe is a personal God.

Peter C. Moore: author, preacher, and business man, who designed the Nike jumpman logo that we see on Nike products

Do you realize that you can interaction with God? If God is three persons who interact, and we are persons individually, we have the ability to interact with God. We can have a personal encounter with God.

God is not some far off deity. He is not the God of Deism, where he just created everything and left us to our own devices.

Prayer is a primary way we enter into personal interaction with God.

We often desire to hear from God, feel his presence, or some type of divine interaction. Do we pray? How long? How often?

The study of God’s Word is another primary way we enter into personal interaction with God.

Do we study God’s Word? How often? How long?

Two very prominent themes throughout the entire Bible: teaching and obedience.

Christianity is primarily a teaching and practicing religion. All else is secondary. Why is it that we often desire to have a personal interaction with God but do not obtain it? Because we neglect the very things which serve as the means to interact with God: studying and learning the Word of God and then obeying it (practicing it).

We will not experience God authentically, and in the way in which he desires for us, until we make, once again, the study and practice of God’s Word THE priority. ALL else is secondary.

Do you grasp the implications of what is being said here?

Let’s pause and think. This may hurt a little.

Some have made music the priority. Do you know how many times singing and/or music is referenced in the NT?

[Matt 26:30; Acts 16:25; 1 Cor 14:15; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16; Heb 2:12; Jam 5:13; Rev 5:9, 14:3, 15:3]

10 times! Out of the 10, how many directly refer to music/singing in a formal church gathering, or worship service? None.

The only one that comes close is Matthew 26:30 “After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

Only 3 refer to singing/music indirectly.

Compare to how much is referenced to teaching and obeying God’s Word: Acts 2:42; 4:2; 4:18, 5:21.… too many to list.

In the Gospels alone: “teach” and its cognates occurs 105x

In the letters: “teach” 70x

“preach” and its cognates: 119x

This does not even include other words like “learn” “command” or references to the study and reading of Scripture.

1 Timothy 4:13 “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.”

Do not misunderstand: singing and playing instruments to the glory of God is good and right. But we must get our priorities straight.

The American Church has flipped upside down the emphasis and priorities that Jesus and Scripture give us.

Illustration of pyramid

Until we get this fixed, a personal encounter with God will be minimal and constricted.

If we want to experience God, then we must go to where he is.

Do you desire, have a passion for, God and experiencing him? Then go to where he is! He is in the study and learning of God’s Word; he is in the solitude of the closet in prayer; he is in the acts of our obedience to him.

A.W. Tozer (The Pursuit of God, 49):

“Why do some persons “find” God in a way that others do not? Why does God manifest His Presence to some and let multitudes of others struggle along in the half-light of imperfect Christian experience? Of course the will of God is the same for all. He has no favorites within His household. All He has ever done for any of His children He will do for all of His children. The difference lies not with God but with us.”

Why is it that some saints find God more than others? Tozer concludes, “they had spiritual awareness and that they went on to cultivate it until it became the biggest thing in their lives. They differed from the average person in that when they felt the inward longing they did something about it.”

God is a triune personal being who desires interaction and personal relationship with us. Do you? And will you do something about it?

As a personal being, God is love

The persons of the Trinity have existed for eternity in loving relationship with one another.

From all eternity, God has existed as one being in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As such, he has existed in a triune personal relationship, or community, of love.

"What was God doing before he created the universe?" Augustine's answer: "He was preparing Hell for people who ask questions like that!"

Obviously, this is not a serious answer. One good answer is that the three persons of the Trinity were in personal communion with each other.

This is what it partly means to be made in God’s image: we have the capacity and desire to be in community with others personally and lovingly.

All other belief systems—religious or otherwise—who do not recognize God as triune worship false gods.

Reflect on how some think Islam, Mormonism, and Christianity worship same God) -

John 5:22–23 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

1 John 2:23 “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”

If God is defined in any other way besides triune, then the person or religion worships a different god.

Conclusion

Utlimate question when it comes to how we relate to the God who is Trinity: in what WAY will we relate to him?

We all have a relationship with the triune Creator of the universe. It is either a broken one or a healed one. Whether it is healed or not depends upon whether you have accepted the work each person of the Trinity has done and will do to bring you into a right relationship with Himself.

The Father sent the Son. The Son died and rose again. Then he ascended back to heaven. The Father and Son sent the Spirit to convict you of your sin. . . . The Spirit will remake you and restore you to a right relationship with God.