UNDERSTANDING THE TRINITY

 

 

Deut.6:4-5’ Job 11:7-19; Gen.1:1-2; Isa. 9:6; John 1:1-4; Mat.28:19

 

What is the Trinity? Can we fully understand the meaning of the Trinity? The answer is, No, not fully. Even the word Trinity is not a biblical word. Nevertheless it is very important word employed in the understanding of the concept of the Oneness of the God of the Universe. The Word Trinity is actually a short form of tri-unity. Sometimes Theologians refer to God as the Triune God!

“The Godhead consists of three separate, distinct and recognizable personalities, perfectly united in one. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are different Persons in the Godhead, not merely three names for one Person”. Matthew 3:16, 17; II Corinthians13:14; Matthew 28:19,20.

God is beyond our limits. God is a Spirit and we are flesh. We are created and He is not. We can only understand God by the things He reveals about Himself. When we come to him, we come with reverence and fear.

My aim this afternoon is not to use technical definitions or analogies. But someone correctly said that water is always water, though it can exists in three states. In a similar manner, that God exists in three distinct persons should never confuse us. I aim to guide us into what God revealed about Himself in the Scripture, and by so doing help us to grasp what we ought to know about the Trinity – the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 

What We Can Know About The Trinity Through The Scriptures.

Gen. 1:1; Isaiah 6:1-5; John 1:1; 4:24; Mat.3:16-17; 28:19

In the Bible, God the Father is referred to as God, the Lord Jesus is referred to as God and the Holy Spirit is referred to as God. When we read these scriptures we do not complain about them. It is these scriptures that are articulated and used to form the concept of the Trinity.

God is a Spirit. Moses in the burning bush had an experience of God in His Burning Holiness (Exo.3:1-6, 13-14). Isaiah the prophet saw the revelation of God highly enthroned, with the seraphim veiling their faces and their feet at His presence (Isaiah 6:1-5). Isaiah himself prophesied about the birth of Jesus (Isa.9:6). Though His name Jesus was not specifically mentioned in that prophecy, there is no other man born of a woman with that description. John’s Gospel began by introducing Jesus as God (John 1:1-4). By the time of Jesus, the Jewish people have completely been freed from idol worshipping. John was simply writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

At Jesus baptism the Holy Spirit descended from heaven on Jesus and the Father Spoke from Heaven about Jesus and called Him His Son (Mat.3:16-17). From here we can see three Persons mentioned – Jesus, The Spirit and the Father. When Jesus gave us the great commission he told us to baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Mat.28:18-19).

The concept of the trinity is found everywhere in the Bible. You do not need to look too far or too deep to find this.

We Can Know About Jesus Through The Scriptures.

Isa.9:6; Mat.1:23; John 1:1-3, 10-14, 18; 5:16-23; John 8:56-58; 10:27-33; 20:28

At the time of the writing of the Gospels, (Deut.6:4-5), which the Jews call the “Shema”, was deeply rooted in the mind and in the practice of every Jew. In writing (John 1:1-14), John was inspired by the Holy Spirit (2Pet.1:21). He was aware of the Shema! Jesus is the only one who fits the descriptive prophecy of (Isaiah 9:6). For the believer the deity of Christ is not so much of a problem. Every born again Christian already believes that Jesus is God. You have confessed that with your mouth and believed it in your heart to be saved (Rom.10:9-10). These scriptures only serve as appetizer to the greater wealth of bible references about the Deity of Jesus Christ.

The controversy that the Jews had with Christ originated from His manifestation of divine power – doing things that only God could do - healing the sick, raising the dead, to cleansing lepers and forgiving sin (Mat.9:1-7; Luke 5:18-25). He told the woman caught in adultery, “Go and sin no more.” Jesus came into the world for that purpose – to save people from their sin. He declared himself to be the Son of God with power.

What We Can Know About The Holy Spirit Through The Scriptures. 

Gen.1:1-2; Psalm 137: 7-8; Acts 5:3-4; 1Cor.3:16; 6:19; 2Tim.3:16; 2Peter 1:21.

In the beginning was the Holy Spirit! Again there is so much information on the deity of the Holy Spirit in the Bible that we cannot exhaust them in just a short sermon like this.

The Holy Spirit is active in our present generation. He has always been active.

He was actively involved in creation (Gen.1:2; Job 33:4; Psalm 104:30)

He is actively involved in begetting (Col.1:19; John 1:12; 3:5; 6:63)

He actively indwells believers today (Eph.2:22; 1John 3:24; 4:13; 1Cor.3:16)

He is actively involved in sanctifying believers (Rom.15:16; 1Peter1:2; 2Thes.2:13)

It is good that we should know the scriptures. But what will mere knowledge of the scripture be to us without the quickening of the Holy Spirit? It is important to ask if the Triune God have done His work in you. Has God done the work of salvation in your life? Have you been washed by the blood of Jesus the Son of God? Are you born again of the Holy Spirit? Does the Spirit of God dwell in you? Have you been sanctified by the Holy Spirit?

The question posed by Zohar the Naamathite, one of the friends of Job, will help us to understand how to think of God. “Can you fathom (probe, comprehend, or understand) the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.” (Job 11:7–9).

How do we approach God? With reverence and fear. We want him to impact our lives and to change us. We want Him to save us. We want the Holy Spirit to dwell in our lives. “Hear O Church of God, the Lord our God, the Lord, is one…”