(039) John XII: The Trinitarian Community
The Gospel of John XII: The Trinitarian Community
John 5:16-47
August 3, 2008
Prep:
· Grudem: Trinity/ Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople.
· The Shack
· Newbigin
· Blogs
Intro:
The Shack: I stayed up late two nights to read and I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t as controversial as I thought it would be.
· My biggest contention with it is something that I initially agreed with, until I studied more about the Trinity this week.
It should not be read as a theological work, but as images that get us closer to the truth.
The main point is trusting God in the midst of tragedy, but the biggest impact it had on me was blowing open how I understand the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
· Ironically, this sermon is about the Trinity, the relationship between the Father and the Son, and why it matters for us.
Prayer: Picnic and Vicki Thompson
Sabbath Showdown
Peter’s passage set up for a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees (Redaction Criticism). This, in turn, is a set up to Jesus declaration of his unique relationship with God.
Jesus seemed to like to heal on Sabbath, just to tick the Pharisees off (he was, and is, a holy mischief maker). But usually, his defense is a legal one: Almost any law can be suspended to protect life or property.
· Now Jesus defends his actions differently, only found here.
John 5:16-18 16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
· My Father works on Sabbath, and so do I – the rules don’t apply to me.
The Pharisees recognized God was exempt from the Sabbath Laws, and for Jesus to claim that same exemption was to make himself equal with God.
This Jesus’ first clear declaration of his divinity in John, and in the first half of this passage, Jesus explains his unique relationship with God.
· It’s ironic that liberal scholars claim Jesus did not believe himself divine, but these Pharisees clearly understood it.
This claim would not have been a problem for the pagans (cf. Hercules), but for the Jews who proclaimed that there was only one God, this was unacceptable.
This is why the second half of the passage (which we will not deal with) is Jesus call forth witnesses to defend this claim: 1) John (v. 33), 2) the Scriptures (v. 37), 3) Moses (v. 45), and 4) the Father, via miracles (v. 36).
· Without this, they had every reason to reject Jesus, but with it, their unbelief was inexcusable (blaspheme of Spirit).
Ä Beyond Jesus’ divinity, this passage bring up: How can Jesus be God, yet other than the Father, as this passage shows?
· That’s asking “How does that Trinity thing work?”
Don’t lose your mind or soul
The Trinity is one of the quintessential doctrines of Christianity. To my knowledge, no other religion has anything like it, yet it is shared by all branches of Christianity.
Countless books, articles, teachings, and classes have been dedicated to the subject, yet we are still pretty fuzzy on the details – and for good reason.
Q How can there only be one God yet three?
· “Deny the Trinity and you will lose your soul; try to explain it and you will lose your mind.”
The doctrine of the Trinity is evidence of the supernatural origins of Scripture. It is simply too foreign to human thought to be made up by man.
· We don’t believe in the Trinity because it’s logical or self-evident, but because God’s revealed it’s what he’s like.
Ä Of course, some people challenge the doctrine as unbiblical.
Is the trinity biblical?
The term “Trinity” does not occur anywhere in the Bible. Rather, as early Christians studied what the Bible said about Jesus and his relationship with the Father, “Trinity” emerged.
· It is never explicitly stated, but implicitly runs throughout.
I don’t want to spend too much time defending the Trinity, as most of us already agree, but even if you do believe in the Trinity, it is a good reminder.
When it comes to defending the Trinity, the biggest battle lies at the divinity of Jesus – no one believes in the “Binity.”
· In John: This passage, 1:1, and “I am.”
Titus 2:13-14 ... we wait for the blessed hope-- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
· In Peter:
“Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. 1 Peter 3:14-15 NIV
Peter is quoting from the OT:
...do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy...Isaiah 8:12-13 NIV
Having demonstrated the divinity of Jesus, we also see the unique role of the Spirit. He is not described as a force, but a personality, that can be grieved.
Finally, the unity of these three is seen by frequent joint-references, but the clearest is found in the Great Commission:
Matthew 28:19-20 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Creeds and councils
So even though it was never explicitly stated, as soon as Christianity became legal and they stopped having to operate in secret, and were able to hold a large forum, the first thing they did was to clarify the doctrine of the Trinity.
· The council of Nicaea in 325 AD clarified that Jesus was of the same substance as God and affirmed the Trinity.
Q So what exactly is meant by the Trinity?
Definition: One God, eternally existing as three distinct persons who are each fully and equally God.
There have been and are many false versions:
· Polytheism: Mormonism
· Monarchialism (only the Father): Arianism and JW’s
· Modalism: One person playing different roles (“Jesus Only”)
The best game plan is to avoid these two errors: Tri-theism and denying any person of the Trinity.
Ä While Scripture isn’t clear how each person is different, we do see that they each function differently.
Economy of the Trinity
Each of them seem to have specific roles, so that even though they are equal and equally God, they each function differently:
John 5:19-23 19 ¶ Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
Here we see Jesus being obedient to the direction of the Father and dependent upon him, even though he is equal to him. Later, Jesus sends to Spirit who indwells, sanctifies, and empowers.
· This seems to be a consistent pattern: the Father directs, the Son acts, and the Spirit completes.
Ä This next part is the stuff I am excited about because I have heard all this other stuff before, but not the next bit.
Trinity = community
On the blog I asked: Why is an orthodox view of the Trinity important? How important is it to our daily life? Where would you rate it on my newly created “Applied Theology Scale”:
· 0 (Purely theoretical head knowledge) – 10 (Affects my everyday life)
Several good comments:
· Suspicious of “heresy hunters” and arrogant orthodoxy.
· Foundational: Everything that we are/do/believe should come from a knowledge of who God is.
Prior to doing this study, I would have given it a 7, but only because I felt guilty for giving it less. Now I see it as a 10, not just because it is foundation, but because I believe it can and does influence our everyday life.
· Cecil is right: Everything we do springs from our beliefs about God. No one can rise above their understanding of God.
If we believe that God is an angry judge, we will live in fear and legalism. If we believe that he is a benign old man, we will live without holiness.
One of the most important statements about God is that he is love, and I believe that his existence in Trinity is a demonstration of love.
· “God is trinity” means is to say “God is love” existing in relationship, before our existence.
Now, we know that everything is from God and reflects him. Evil is a corrupting of that. Our relational nature is a reflection of the community of the Trinity.
· We deeply desire communication, and technology only is trying to increase this, and it comes from our reflection of him.
Accordingly, as we seek to be a “Christian community,” we find that this stuff is immensely practical. It rates a 10 on my Applied Theology Scale, because:
The Trinity is the source and highest example of community.
What I loved about “The Shack” was the representation of the community within the Trinity:
· Trinitarian life is communal (it is not good to be alone).
· Trinitarian life is happy, filled with love and joy.
· Trinitarian life is transparent – no secrets, not duplicitous.
· Trinitarian love is serving each other.
The Trinity demonstrates unity in diversity.
Within the Trinity, as seen in our passage, we don’t see three independent beings, rather an interdependence.
“...the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:20)
“I don’t need anybody” is a satanic lie. If God lives in interdependence, how much more must we be interdependent? That is why the body is such a frequent analogy for the church.
· Twice Jesus prays that we be one as they are one.
They unity within the Trinity is God’s ideal for us. Not millions of people looking and acting alike, but millions united in their diversity, together reflecting the Father.
The Trinity demonstrates equality in submission.
This is the tough one for me. And this where I agreed before I disagreed with “The Shack.” It basically says that there is no hierarchy within the Trinity.
It has good points about relationship over chain of command, but Scripture is clear about there being some sort of hierarchy:
1 Corinthians 11:3 3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
· Within the Trinity there is an eternal hierarchy and submission even as there is fully equality.
This touches on many areas of submission: Marriage, family, and church life. We are called to submit in many different areas.
· If we are either defiant in submission or using authority to hold superiority, we are not being “Trinitarian.”
To be completely honest, I have always had a real problem with talk of submission because it has been so thoroughly misused. Over the past 2,000 years the emphasis has biased toward the wife’s submission, not the husband’s sacrifice.
· I don’t think we are anywhere near God’s ideal.
The passage in Ephesians that tells wives to submit and husbands to love begins with “submit to each other.”
Q So how are to correct the abuse and restore God’s ideal?
I am not entirely sure, but I believe that it has to begin by looking to the example within the Trinity: Mutual submission, interdependency, full equality, yet submission to the authority of the Father.
· Sometimes that Scriptures that make us the most uncomfortable are the ones we need the most.
closing/Application:
I hope you never view the Trinity as a dusty doctrine but a vital reality that impacts us in profound ways. I pray that we see in the Trinity a model for building our communities:
· Joyous communal life.
· Unity in diversity.
· Equality in submission.