24-0512p Transcript

Preacher: Jim Lokenbauer

(1:26) Thank you, Mike. Well, good evening, everybody. (1:30) And I will be concluding the lesson on our triune God, one in substance and three in person, part two. (1:39) So our study on the Holy Trinity will come to a conclusion.

(1:46) And this morning we were looking at an article from Reason and Revelation from the Apologetics Press. (1:54) And it was by Donnie DeBoard, PhD, titled Our Triune God, One in Substance and Three in Person. (2:04) And picking up where we left off from this morning, he says, (2:10) This divine triunity is taught in several ways, but it is beautifully displayed as the Father, (2:19) Son, and Spirit, and are routinely placed together as the God who saves.

(2:27) As author Michael Horton said, the confession, one God in three persons, arises naturally (2:35) out of the triadic formulas in the New Testament in the context of baptism. (2:42) And he cites Matthew 28, 19, and liturgical blessings and benedictions, Matthew 28, 19, (2:55) John 1, 18, which says, No one at any time has seen God but the one and only God, (3:03) the one who is in the bosom of the Father. That one has made him known.

(3:10) And that, of course, is talking about Jesus being God and being in the bosom of the Father who is God. (3:19) And in John 5, 23, it says, In order that all people will honor the Son (3:24) just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father (3:31) who sent him.

Romans 5, 5. And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been (3:40) poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. And in 1 Corinthians 6, 11, (3:51) Paul says, And some of you were these things, but you were washed, you were sanctified, (3:58) you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. So he’s citing all (4:07) these scriptures that talk about the work of the different beings that make up the Trinity (4:15) in our lives.

And in John 8, 6, it says, Yet to us there is one God, the Father, (4:25) from whom are all things, and we are for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, (4:32) through whom all things, and we are through him. And in chapter 12, verses 4 through 6, (4:48) and this is from 1 Corinthians, Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

And (4:55) there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, (5:02) but the same God who works all things in all people. And so there you see the working of the (5:09) Trinity with the dispensing of gifts in the first century church.

2 Corinthians 13, 13 through 14, (5:20) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (5:27) be with all of you. And so that would be a benediction, sort of closing statements that (5:36) Paul made from the second Corinthian letter. And he cites all three members of the Trinity, (5:45) Ephesians 4, 3 through 6. And we all know this one.

This talks about the ones of God. (5:54) Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace, (6:02) just as you were called to one hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, (6:08) one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. So there we see there’s (6:17) one body, the church, one Spirit, one God, one Lord, and God is over all and through all and in (6:26) all.

So if you’ve got the breath of life, God is in you. If you are a saved believer, (6:37) Holy Spirit is in you. If you’ve got the Word of God in your heart, Christ dwells in you.

(6:46) That’s amazing to me that our body truly is the temple of God. (6:53) First Timothy 2.5, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ. (7:02) First Peter 1.2, to God’s elect who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God (7:13) the Father through the sanctifying work of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and (7:19) sprinkling by his blood grace and peace to yours in abundance.

So that’s talking about the workings (7:29) of the Trinity. God is eternally one but never lonely or isolated. God is love, it says in 1 (7:40) John 4.8 and 16.

This divine love is eternally and perfectly shared between Father, Son, (7:49) and Spirit. We see glimpses of this in Scripture as Jesus is described as the Father’s Son (7:57) and the Beloved Son. The Spirit also is described as the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ.

(8:06) Jesus' pronouncement of the baptismal formula links three persons, (8:13) God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to one name. (8:22) Individuals are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (8:31) Paul’s doxology groups the three together saying the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love (8:39) of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And those were his parting words from (8:51) 2 Corinthians 13.13. So the three persons of God are linked together in worship, (8:58) works, and works of salvation. The oneness and threeness of God are not math problems to be (9:07) reconciled or contradictions requiring magical theological maneuvers to maintain the unity of (9:15) Scripture. The oneness and threeness of God describe two categorically distinct truths.

(9:24) One, there is one divine substance and two, three persons eternally share one divine substance. (9:34) The oneness and threeness of God are mysteries revealed to us. We should accept them, (9:41) marvel at them, and investigate these truths as best we can.

God’s threeness is revealed to us (9:49) in Scripture in several different ways. In each of these ways we can see the one divine essence (9:57) is shared by the three divine persons, the one God who creates. Scripture opens with the truth (10:05) that God created the heavens and the earth, Genesis 1.1. Even in the Old Testament we see (10:13) this creative act involve more than one divine being.

And remember what I said this morning about (10:22) the name when you see God in Scripture, it’s Elohim, which is the Hebrew way of saying (10:32) the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit. El being God and him meaning plural (10:42) masculine.

Even in the Old Testament we see this creative act involve more than the one divine (10:54) person. Proverbs 8, 22 through 36, for example, was understood by ancient Jews and Christians (11:02) to refer to a second divine person present at creation. While we may immediately think of (11:10) God the Father in Genesis 1.1, the Apostle John taught us the Son was in the beginning with God (11:19) and that all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made.

(11:28) Furthermore, it is in Christ that all things hold together, Colossians 1.17. (11:40) Moving forward in the creation account, we find the Holy Spirit was active in creation as well. (11:48) The Son was not alone in the work of creation. During the creation of the heavens and the earth, (11:55) the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters, Genesis 1.2. The phrase Spirit of (12:03) God is found around 24 more times in the Bible and each time this refers to Holy Spirit.

The words (12:14) describing the Spirit’s creative work in Genesis 1.2 are echoed in Luke 1.35 to describe the Spirit’s (12:24) work in the creation of Christ’s human nature. Subsequent when he created life in Mary’s womb, (12:34) it was Holy Spirit who put that life there. Subsequently, Christians are said to have been (12:41) born again by water and the Spirit, John 3.5 and also Titus 3.5 and 6. So it is right to say God (12:52) created the heavens and the earth.

We can see this was not an isolated work. Rather, (13:00) it was the collective work of the triune God, Elohim, God the Son. The Bible also describes (13:10) the Son’s relationship to the Father in such a way that affirms his deity as well as his distinct (13:18) personhood.

The Son is distinct from the Father but also eternally shares in the divine substance, (13:27) John 1.1, which says in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. (13:37) Jesus called God his own Father, but Jesus called God his Father differently than we can claim that (13:45) God is our Father. When Jesus called God Father, he was claiming to be equal with the Father, (13:53) John 5.18 and 26.

The Son eternally receives his divine light from the Father, (14:01) John 5.26. The Son is able to bring many sons to glory because he himself is a son, (14:09) as Paul tells us in Galatians 4.4-6. As the divine Son, he is installed as king by the Father (14:19) and should be worshipped, and we see that in Psalm 2, verses 2 and 12. Also in Acts 4, 25-26. (14:32) Hebrews 1.5 and Psalm 45.6-7 and Hebrews 1.8-9. These all talk about Jesus being the king and (14:44) worthy of our worship.

The Gospel of John identified Christ as God by identifying him with the I Am, (14:55) which is Yahweh. The seven main I Am statements in the Gospel of John and other important I Am (15:05) constructions in the Gospel of John point to Jesus being I Am, Yahweh. John’s presentation of Jesus (15:15) as the I Am points his readers back to Exodus 3.14-15 and also Exodus 33.17-20 where God reveals (15:27) his nature in the proclamation of his name Yahweh, the great I Am.

And in previous lessons, (15:36) we went over that pretty extensively. Since there is one divine substance, the Son was able to say (15:44) believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, John 14.11. This sharing of the singular (15:53) divine essence is implied again in Jesus saying the words that I say to you I do not speak on my (16:04) own but the Father as he remains in me does his work. And that was from John 14.10. The one (16:14) divine essence is shared by the Father, Son, and Spirit in such a way that Jesus can say I am in (16:22) the Father and the Father is in me.

Since he shared the same nature, Jesus was able to say whoever (16:31) has seen me has seen the Father. And if you remember that’s what he said to Philip when (16:37) Philip in the upper room on the night Jesus was betrayed said show us the Father and that will be (16:44) enough for us. And Jesus said I have been with you for so long and you do not know me by now.

(16:52) When you see me you see the Father. That should have sent chills up the Apostle’s spine. (17:05) There is an eternal sharing or communication of the divine nature.

John describes it this way, (17:12) we have seen his glory, glory is the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth, John 1.14. (17:21) Colossians 1.15 describes Christ as the image of the invisible God. Hebrews 1.3 describes the Son (17:30) as the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. (17:39) That too should send chills through those who got to witness Jesus while he was on earth, (17:47) to know that when they saw him they were looking at God, the Father.

That really is (17:55) mind-boggling. So Christ’s Sonship seems to be a shorthand way of teaching that Jesus (18:03) shares the Father’s divine nature. Furthermore, Christ demonstrated his divinity, (18:14) his sharing in the divine nature, as he performed divine works.

Christ can forgive sin because he (18:22) shares in the divine substance. Mark 2, 1-12 and Matthew 9, 5-6. The word both is God and is with (18:34) God.

John 1.1, Isaiah 45.23 says we learn that every knee should bow and every tongue confess (18:46) the Lord or to confess Yahweh. Jesus is able to explain the Father because he is God the only Son (18:58) who is in the arms of the Father, John 1.18. Jesus said he would give life as a divine work, (19:07) as we see in John 5, 21 and 25. Jesus explained that he is able to give life because the Father (19:15) has eternally shared his divine life with him.

The Son, because he shares in the singular divine (19:24) substance, should be honored as the Father is honored, as John says in 5.23. (19:33) In Philippians 2, 10-11, we see that every knee should bow to Christ, who, as Lord, (19:42) shares in the divine substance. Finally, perhaps no stronger assertion of Christ’s deity could be (19:50) made than the announcement given by all of the apostles that there is no other name (19:57) under heaven or on earth by which we may be saved. That’s Acts 4.12. Romans 10.13 and Philippians (20:08) 2.9 and he mentions other scriptures show that every knee is going to bow to Christ, (20:17) that he is the Savior and that he is God.

This could mean only that Jesus of Nazareth was none (20:27) other than Israel’s great king, Yahweh, whose name alone was to be invoked. God the Spirit. (20:38) This Spirit is described as God in Acts 5.4 and the Spirit of the Lord in Acts 5.9. The Spirit (20:48) was described as God when God’s people sinned against him in Isaiah 63.10. Also in Matthew 12.31 (20:59) and 32.

The Spirit is grouped with the Father and Son as the three share the one name or substance (21:10) of Matthew 28.19, in which the name were to baptize people in the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. (21:19) The Spirit also included with the Father and Son in texts like 2 Corinthians 13.14, (21:27) in which Paul prayed the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship (21:34) of the Spirit be with you all. You got to think for a minute.

By citing all three of them means (21:46) that all three are real. All three are to be worshiped as God. All three are intimately (21:55) involved in each and every Christian’s life.

And all three care and love for us. And all three are (22:04) to be honored and worshiped. The Spirit was present with the Father in Matthew 3.16 to confirm (22:11) Jesus' sonship when he was baptized in the Jordan River.

And if you remember, the Spirit came down (22:19) as a dove and lit upon Jesus and then the voice from heaven said, this is my son whom I love. (22:27) With him I am well pleased. The deity of the Spirit is demonstrated in the Spirit’s involvement (22:35) in work only God can do.

This exclusively divine activity is seen in the Spirit’s (22:43) eternal pre-existence and work to bring about creation in Genesis 1-2 and the regeneration (22:51) of God’s people. John 3, 3-5 and Titus 3, 5-7 and that’s when we receive Holy Spirit at (23:02) baptism. The Spirit is omnipresent, Psalm 139, 7-11.

The Spirit is omniscient, Isaiah 40, 13-14. (23:17) The Spirit reveals the future, 1 Timothy 4-1. The Spirit was described by the Son as another helper (23:26) and the Spirit of truth to be with the apostles instead of the incarnate Christ who went back (23:34) to the Father through ascension.

God’s love is poured out into our hearts, Paul says in Romans (23:42) 5, by the Spirit. The Spirit as a divine work sanctifies God’s people as we’ve read in 1 Peter (23:53) 1-2. Christians are the temple of God because God’s Spirit dwells within them.

The deity of (24:02) the Spirit is also seen in the works of the Spirit during the incarnation of Christ. This divine work (24:09) was prophesied in Isaiah 42, 1-14 as God revealed that His Spirit would rest upon His chosen servant. (24:21) The Spirit as a divine person created the human nature of Christ in Mary’s womb.

Jesus' (24:30) miraculous work was completed through the Spirit’s direction and empowerment. Finally, the Spirit is (24:41) also said to have raised Christ’s body from the dead, Romans 8-11. So the conclusion is the oneness (24:51) and freeness of God demonstrates God’s perfection.

Instead of isolation or loneliness, (25:00) our triune God eternally enjoys His divine fullness. The three persons of God also remind us (25:09) of our own Christian certainty. The Father, Son, and Spirit share their overflowing love with us (25:17) and exalt us for their own glory.

Triune God is our great comfort in every situation of life. (25:27) We can know the Father, Son, and Spirit are at work to bring us home to heaven. So how do we (25:34) speak of God appropriately? Speak of God as He has revealed Himself.

The self-revelation of God (25:43) from God is accommodative. It is as much as we can handle, but it is also accurate. (25:53) We can know God as the one God who exists as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.

(26:02) The Father, Son, and Spirit are the three persons who share the same divine substance. Our affections (26:11) and worship should be singularly focused on God. And as we focus on the oneness of God, (26:20) we are also compelled to consider the three persons of God.

We can agree with Gregory of (26:28) Nazareth who says, No sooner do I conceive of the one than I am illumined by the splendor of the (26:36) three. No sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the one. Indeed, there is one (26:46) divine essence.

We have our hope in the one God who, through actions appropriate to the three (26:54) persons, saved us and brought us to Himself for our salvation and His glory. And don’t forget, (27:03) at creation we were created by the Trinity. Let us make God in our image.

And consider this, (27:15) Paul, in his parting words to the Thessalonians in his first Thessalonian letter, (27:23) chapter 5, verse 23, he says, May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. (27:30) May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (27:42) God created us a three-part being.

Are we not like our Creator who is a three-part being? (27:56) Father, Son, and Spirit. Soul, Spirit, and Body. We are made in His image.

(28:06) If you would like to respond to the invitation we give right now, if you need prayers or (28:11) whatever your needs may be, let it be known as we stand and sing the invitation song.