Posts
Textual: Ephesians 1-6, Colossians 1, Philippians 2
Introduction
The Trinity can be defined like this: within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and co-eternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. James White, The Forgotten Trinity. Hank Hanegraaff, says, in the trinity, we are talking about one what and three who’s. The one what is the Being or essence of God; the three who’s are the Father, Son, and Spirit.
The relationship between the three is eternal. Each person is eternal, coequal with the others as to their divine nature. Each fully shares the one Being that is God. The Son is not 1/3 God, nor the Father, nor the Spirit. There never was a time when the Father was not the Father, the Son was not the Son, or the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit. Likewise, the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, and the Spirit is not the Father or the Son.
The Problem is with our minds grasping something totally unique, which cannot be compared to anything else without including some error in the parallel.
We can’t explain from experience on life on earth God’s infinity and eternity—He is the creator of time, above time, and can move around in time and back out of it. This is beyond our understanding or simple explanation, but it is biblical truth.
We can’t explain God’s Omnipresence and unchangeableness, even our views of spirits or smoke, includes a limitation of the space and area they cover. Not so with the triune God. But the term trinity is not in the Bible. That is right, but the concept is there, and trinity or tri-unity is the best way in English to label what we find. We have many theological labels that are not in the Bible.
We can’t explain God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, neither person having a body or any containment like we understand of created things on earth
So we bring confusing baggage to the terms person and being because God is totally unique and cannot be illustrated by anything in creation that will not diminish His glory or at the same time imply wrong views as well as correct ones
In theology person and being are not the same. Being is the essence, substance, or nature of something or someone. There are not 3 beings who are God. God is one in Being, yet three in persons.
A person has personality, mind, volition, likes, dislikes, preferences, emotions, intellect, knowledge, understanding, ability to communicate, to discern, to judge between options or directions, etc.
Pillar # 1: is Monotheism: There is only one God
Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one: and you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and will all your soul, and with all your might. (Deu 6:4-5 WEB)
Pillar # 2: There are three divine Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father.
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, (Mat 28:18 ESV)
Who gave him the authority? God the Father. Why just one name, it is singular, for three persons?
Because God is one in being, three in persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so the name is singular for one.
Pillar # 3: The persons are coequal and coeternal in sharing the divine being.
Mark: And [John the Baptist] preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." 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." 12 The Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. (Mar 1:7 ESV)
Eternity for God is not just a long period of human time. It is a way of existence that does not involve a progression of events and moments. We have no earthly idea how a day can be like a 1,000 years and a 1,000 years like a day from our perspective on this planet. Let’s be humble enough to admit that. We see growth, change, progression, destruction, and death. We cannot create matter out of nothing with our words. We have not even yet discovered what is the force that holds the particles in atoms together. It effects can be observed, and the atom bomb can reverse it, but it is beyond our knowledge.
So don’t bring the baggage of a person being the same as a being. In Christian theology there is a difference as can be seen with the Holy God of Scripture. This means He is pure, but also that He is like no other.
Peter wrote: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, (1 Pet 1:1 ESV) 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and set apart by the Spirit for obedience and for sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Pet 1:1-2 HCSB)
So this is what we find as we read our Bible, and especially the NT, that God is one, yet also three.
Our Baptist Forefather in 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith
· THERE is but one, and only one, living and true God. He is self-existent and infinite in His being and His perfections. None but He can comprehend or understand His essence. He is pure spirit, invisible, and without body, parts, or the changeable feelings of men. He alone possesses immortality, and dwells amid the light insufferably bright to mortal men. He never changes. He is great beyond all our conceptions, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty and infinite. He is most holy, wise, free and absolute . . .
· God is all-sufficient, and all life, glory, goodness and blessedness are found in Him and in Him alone. He does not stand in need of any of the creatures that He has made, nor does He derive any part of His glory from them. On the contrary, He manifests His own glory in and by them. He is the fountain-head of all being, and the origin, channel and end of all things. Over all His creatures He is sovereign . . .
· Three divine Persons constitute the Godhead-the Father, the Son (or the Word), and the Holy Spirit. They are one in substance, in power, and in eternity. Each is fully God, and yet the Godhead is one and indivisible. The Father owes His being to none. He is Father to the Son who is eternally begotten of Him. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. These Persons, one infinite and eternal God not to be divided in being, are distinguished in Scripture by their personal nature or in relations within the Godhead, and by the variety of works which they undertake. Their tri-unity (that is, the doctrine of the Trinity) is the essential basis of all our fellowship with God, and of the comfort we derive from our dependence upon Him.
Some biblical passages use the term God intending to include all three persons, some refer to just one person of the trinity, some passages list two or all three persons. The Old Testament divine name Yahweh is used for one of three persons of the trinity separately in some passages and in others texts the divine name is used of the three persons together as one being. It is not exclusive to just God the Father in every passage.
Jesus always being God, on the first Christmas also became a man. He lived a holy life in our place. He died in our place to pay for our sins. He arose in the same body from the tomb. He will remain God and Man in His glorified body forever. Yet being fully God He possesses all the divine attributes, characteristics, essence, and abilities, including omnipresence, even when He was on the earth.
We hold on to these facts and the full mystery involved in them with the humility to admit our small brains cannot illustrate them, demonstrate them, or explain them so a 5 year old can grasp them. Our God is too big and too unique for that.
We are going to a few of the Apostle Paul Epistles and see the trinity worked out in the text of Scripture to churches with real problems and real needs that Paul is going to address.
Direction
1. Paul’s description of the trinity in the book of Ephesians.
2. Paul’s defense of the deity of Yeshu’a the Messiah in Colossians chapter 1.
3. Paul’s description of the God-Man Yeshu’a in Philippians chapter 2.
So to begin, let’s consider
I. Paul’s description of the trinity in the book of Ephesians.
A. In chapter one he separates out the work of the three persons of the trinity.
1. God the Father has a plan and a people vs 3-6, 9-11
2. God the Son redeems, ransoms, purchases the people vs 7-8, 12-13d
3. God the Holy Spirit seals us and is our down payment to prove our final deliverance is a sure thing vs 13e-14
4. We could also go verse by verse in this chapter and see the clear distinction between the three persons of the trinity, Father, Son, Spirit
B. Ephesians chapter 2
1. The Father caused our spiritual deadness to be reversed by raising us from the dead and saved us by grace giving us the gift of faith 1-11
2. The Son is perfect life and cross work has fulfilled the ceremonial law and brought unity between Gentile and Jewish believers in Yeshua the Messiah 12-16
3. The trinity in * vs 18
4. Membership in the one body of Christ by the Son, Father, and Spirit 19-22
C. Ephesians chapter 3
1. The Son, the Father, the Spirit vs. 1-5
2. The Son, Father, Spirit, read vs 14-19 (10-21)
D. Ephesians chapter 4
1. Three persons, yet God is one, read vs. 1-6
2. Proof of the personhood of the Spirit * vs. 30 Has anyone grieved the wind or electricity? You cannot disappoint or displease a force.
E. Ephesians chapter 5
1. God as the trinity, then the Son and the Father * vs. 1-2
2. The Kingdom of Christ = Kingdom of God vs. 5
3. The term “Lord” is used for all three persons at once vs. 10
4. The Father, Son, Spirit vs. 18-20
F. Ephesians chapter 6
1. The Holy Spirit, 17-18, The Holy Spirit inspired the word, superintended the prophets, and illuminates the word, indwells the believer, convicts, and assists us when we pray
2. God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give peace, love, faith vs. 23
Argumentation: Is this the only book Paul does this in? No, it is in all his letters.
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. (1 Tim 3:16 NKJV)
Jesus is truly God
13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
(Titus 2:13-14 NASB)
Jesus the Messiah is our great God and Savior, but in both of these books, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are separate persons, but one in being, nature, essence, substance. All three are truly and fully God.
ILL. Vance Havner said, “I don’t understand how electricity works and produces light. But I am not going to sit in the dark until I do.” Embrace what the Bible says about God’s nature, affirm what it affirms, deny what it denies. That is all you need to do. You don’t have to explain it on a child’s level. Hold firmly to the trinity, God is one in being, three in persons, and these three are equal in power and glory.
II. Paul’s defense of the deity of Yeshu’a the Messiah in Col 1:12-23.
A. Background to Colossians is a heresy Paul is refuting. An early form of Gnosticism, Greek philosophy, mixed with Jewish ceremonies. You can see this influence in the writings of Philo Judeas of Alexandria, Egypt. Matter is evil, Spirit is good, so it was the 8th emanation of the good God that created matter.
B. No Greek philosopher would want a resurrection; they wanted to be free from the prison house of the body. So they denied the deity of Jesus the Messiah and is oneness with God the Father. They used angels as the beings that created when mixed with Judaism.
C. Read Col 1:12-23
1. The Father transferred us to the Kingdom of the Son, whom He loves 12-13
2. Jesus is the one through whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sins 14
3. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, one in nature with the Father, who is spirit (John 4)
* vs 15
4. Jesus is the firstborn, the privileged and preeminent one over all of creation. Vs 15
He will call to Me, 'You are my Father, my God, the rock of my salvation.' 27 I will also make him My firstborn, greatest of the kings of the earth. 28 I will always preserve My faithful love for him, and My covenant with him will endure. (Psa 89:26-28 HCSB)
ANE treaty the emperor called the governors his sons and they called him father, his first born, is his favorite chosen governor that he has a treaty with who is not kin to him at all. This is first applied to David, not the first person God had a covenant with or his first creation, and then to the Messiah, Yeshu’a. vs 15
5. Note Jesus creates all things, not some, not the rest, all vs 15
6. Again, everything visible and invisible, angels, planets, minerals, atoms
All were created by King Jesus. He is God.
7. He is not the 8th emanation or an angel, He is before all things vs 17
8. He holds all the atoms together by the word of his power
If he lets go, atomic explosion. He still did this work while on earth. 17
9. Jesus is the beginning, He is the first in privilege to have a resurrected glorified body, He is the preeminent one in everything LORD * vs 18
10. All the fullness of God dwells in Yeshu’a, Paul uses their terms against them * vs 19 Jesus is God
11. Read 20-23 The eternal Son of God came to earth, became a man to die for sinners. Do you know Him? Do you belong to Him? Has he rescued you yet? You embrace the Christ by Repentance and faith with a full surrender to His Lordship. Like Thomas, you say, My Lord and My God. He is the boss, and He is God.
A. ILL. JW, When the Russelites come to your door and want to tell you that Jesus was a created being, a subordinate being, actually Michael the Archangel, and the Holy Spirit is a force, and God is Jehovah, one person and one being, don’t you believe that heresy for a minute. The Watchtower is in error and they have twisted the Bible, especially their New World Translation. They even have the wrong name for God, besides their attack on the person and work of Jesus. They deny his bodily resurrection and salvation by grace. Do not let them into your house as 2 John vs. 10 commands.
III. Paul’s description of the God-Man Yeshu’a in Philippians chapter 2:5-11.
A. LOOK AT THE MESSIAH’S MENTAL PERSPECTIVE. Read vs 5-7
Explanation: Context is two women fighting in the church, see chapter 4. Youoweme and Sotochie. For unity to be maintained in the church, the members have to be humble. Christ modeled this better than anyone, so He is Paul’s example. Mind – Form: outward appearance – displays - inside Honey Jar –clear to all in Heaven Jesus – God –outside – inside – 6 - Clutch – glory veiled – perspective opposite – pride – selfishness – Jesus never ceased – God – added not subtracted – 7- no reputation (empty), glory veiled Christ always God became man hypostatic union of the two full natures, fully God and fully man. He was always God the Son, but he stepped into time and history to become man. That act was one of humility. He possessed no splendid form for us to see, no desirable appearance. (Isa 53:2 CEB)
Argumentation: In Matt. 17 we see the one instance Jesus removed the veil for 3 disciples and they got a glimpse of His glory, but to everyone else He looked just like an ordinary man. Mark. I came not to be served but to serve and to give . . .No greater love has a man than this, to lay down his life for His friends, there is no self-seeking here! Paul is making a case, if the greatest one, the God-Man can be a slave, should not also the lesser ones, His disciples be slaves? Sure, Euodia & Snytyche, can serve others.
Application: What does this model teach us? We are to not try to get things done our way only & look out for only our interests. The model here is the Messiah’s perspective, His attitude, mindset was one of humility. Now if he was only a man or an angel or just a created being, he could not humble himself by not fighting to retain his former heavenly glory. Only a divine uncreated person could humble himself in this way. Just a man would be in deep sin if he tried to obtain the divine prerogatives and he would have never had them to begin with as a mere man. You cannot fight to keep what you never had. Jesus was no mere man. He is the eternal Son of God with no beginning and no end. He added humanity to his person-hood as the second person of the trinity in order to rescue us from our sin.
4 I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I shared with you before the world was created. (John 17:4-5 CEB)
A mere man could not have said this. No angels shared equal glory with God the Father or God the Son. When He again brings His firstborn into the world, He says, And all God's angels must worship Him. (Heb 1:6 HCSB)
And in Jesus prayer in John 17 you have God the Son speaking to God the Father. Two divine persons, yet one in being, essence, nature, and glory.
B. LOOK AT THE MESSIAH’S PATTERN. Read vs. 8
Explanation: Appeared as a man, He was – God-Man, fully God – fully Man, He humbled … death – cross, 5 descents – 1) from heaven, 2) glory hidden, as a man 3) slave among men, 4) death, 5) cursed death on cross (Electric Chair, concentration camp) He was crushed for the rebellion of his people to whom the punishment was due (Isa 53) He bore our curse, humbled for us, His pain, our gain
Argumentation: The Bible teaches Jesus is God. Heb. 1:8 “But to the Son He says: Your throne, O God is forever and ever.” And Jesus became Man as well, Heb. 2:14 “just as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death.” Mat. 1:23 “they shall call His name, Immanuel, God with us.” As hard as it is to grasp, we must repeat what the Bible teaches without dumbing it down into a heretical position.
C. LOOK AT THE MESSIAH’S PATIENCE. Vs. 9-11
Explanation: Waiting for God’s timing, waiting for heaven to settle certain issues requires patience. Jesus did it! Look – “Therefore” reason for Christ’s exaltation – humility first. He was raised (past tense) highest point. This is at his ascension, recorded in Psa 24 as the King of glory returns back to heaven. He was given a title above all other titles Look at the word “LORD” -- worship of men and angels. In the Old Testament translation into Greek, called the Septuagint, about 250 BC they used the Greek word kurios to translate Yahweh the most. That is the Greek term Paul uses here. And he puts it first. Kurios is Yeshu’a the Messiah. Yahweh is Yeshu’a the Messiah. LORD is Jesus Christ. It is most certainly a term that means boss, master, but it most assuredly means God. He is Lord. Yahweh. Jesus is fully God and all beings in the universe SHOULD acknowledge it right now. The ones who belong to Jesus, men and angels, bow to worship whenever they here this phrase and title given to the exalted and glorified God-man at His coronation when He ascended in Acts 1 and returned to His former glory have finished the work he was sent to do. LORD is Yeshu’a the Messiah! When you say this as an act of worship you are not only pleasing the Son of God, but you are bringing glory to God the Father.
Argumentation: Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all of the house of Israel know for sure that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.” A past event.
12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
13 "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son . . .
16 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17 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 14:12-17 NASB)
13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
15 "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He [the Spirit] takes of Mine and will disclose it to you. (John 16:13-15 NASB)
ILL. LDS, When they come on their bikes and try to tell you that Elohim sired Jesus spirit from one of his 100 wives on his far away planet and then later came down and had a physical relationship with Mary of Nazareth so Jesus could have a physical beginning and could later become a god from a man just like Elohim did, don’t tolerate that heresy at your house. They had a faulty leader, Joseph Smith and they have several faulty books, including the book of Mormon. The trinity is not up for debate. This is a first level doctrine that you may not compromise on one little bit.
Conclusion
Review
The Trinity can be defined like this: within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and co-eternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
3 Foundations
a. God is one in being, nature, essence, attributes
b. God is three in persons, Father, Son, Spirit
c. These three persons are coequal and co-eternal
Look for these foundational elements as you read your Bible. They are there over and over again so that you can embrace the truth about the God who created the world, and the God who saves sinners.
You need to get these elements right, and accept the mystery of all that they imply by faith.
We need to also state what is untrue about the biblical doctrine of the trinity as well as what is true.
There are not three Gods. There are not three beings called God.
There is not only one person in heaven pretending to be three or one person with three different titles.
The Son of God is not a created being and he is totally separate from Michael the Archangel, a person and being He created, contra JW’s.
The Holy Spirit is not a mere force like electricity or the wind, but is a full person. He is not an “it,” He is to be referred to as a He, a person with a mind, will, and divine emotions and all the attributes and power of God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ.
What is true, God is one in being, but the godhead described in the Bible is at the same time, three in persons, namely the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Son of God and the Holy Spirit have always existed and are outside of time as is God the Father.
The false gods of the cults and world religions cannot deliver your soul from sins power, control, and everlasting punishment. Only Jesus, who is fully God and fully man can save you from the wrath to come. Run to Jesus.
Introduction
The Trinity can be defined like this: within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and co-eternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. James White, The Forgotten Trinity. Hank Hanegraaff, says, in the trinity, we are talking about one what and three who’s. The one what is the Being or essence of God; the three who’s are the Father, Son, and Spirit.
The relationship between the three is eternal. Each person is eternal, coequal with the others as to their divine nature. Each fully shares the one Being that is God. The Son is not 1/3 God, nor the Father, nor the Spirit. There never was a time when the Father was not the Father, the Son was not the Son, or the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit. Likewise, the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, and the Spirit is not the Father or the Son.
The Problem is with our minds grasping something totally unique, which cannot be compared to anything else without including some error in the parallel.
We can’t explain from experience on life on earth God’s infinity and eternity—He is the creator of time, above time, and can move around in time and back out of it. This is beyond our understanding or simple explanation, but it is biblical truth.
We can’t explain God’s Omnipresence and unchangeableness, even our views of spirits or smoke, includes a limitation of the space and area they cover. Not so with the triune God. But the term trinity is not in the Bible. That is right, but the concept is there, and trinity or tri-unity is the best way in English to label what we find. We have many theological labels that are not in the Bible.
We can’t explain God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, neither person having a body or any containment like we understand of created things on earth
So we bring confusing baggage to the terms person and being because God is totally unique and cannot be illustrated by anything in creation that will not diminish His glory or at the same time imply wrong views as well as correct ones
In theology person and being are not the same. Being is the essence, substance, or nature of something or someone. There are not 3 beings who are God. God is one in Being, yet three in persons.
A person has personality, mind, volition, likes, dislikes, preferences, emotions, intellect, knowledge, understanding, ability to communicate, to discern, to judge between options or directions, etc.
Pillar # 1: is Monotheism: There is only one God
Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one: and you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and will all your soul, and with all your might. (Deu 6:4-5 WEB)
Pillar # 2: There are three divine Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father.
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, (Mat 28:18 ESV)
Who gave him the authority? God the Father. Why just one name, it is singular, for three persons?
Because God is one in being, three in persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so the name is singular for one.
Pillar # 3: The persons are coequal and coeternal in sharing the divine being.
Mark: And [John the Baptist] preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." 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." 12 The Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. (Mar 1:7 ESV)
Eternity for God is not just a long period of human time. It is a way of existence that does not involve a progression of events and moments. We have no earthly idea how a day can be like a 1,000 years and a 1,000 years like a day from our perspective on this planet. Let’s be humble enough to admit that. We see growth, change, progression, destruction, and death. We cannot create matter out of nothing with our words. We have not even yet discovered what is the force that holds the particles in atoms together. It effects can be observed, and the atom bomb can reverse it, but it is beyond our knowledge.
So don’t bring the baggage of a person being the same as a being. In Christian theology there is a difference as can be seen with the Holy God of Scripture. This means He is pure, but also that He is like no other.
Peter wrote: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, (1 Pet 1:1 ESV) 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and set apart by the Spirit for obedience and for sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Pet 1:1-2 HCSB)
So this is what we find as we read our Bible, and especially the NT, that God is one, yet also three.
Our Baptist Forefather in 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith
· THERE is but one, and only one, living and true God. He is self-existent and infinite in His being and His perfections. None but He can comprehend or understand His essence. He is pure spirit, invisible, and without body, parts, or the changeable feelings of men. He alone possesses immortality, and dwells amid the light insufferably bright to mortal men. He never changes. He is great beyond all our conceptions, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty and infinite. He is most holy, wise, free and absolute . . .
· God is all-sufficient, and all life, glory, goodness and blessedness are found in Him and in Him alone. He does not stand in need of any of the creatures that He has made, nor does He derive any part of His glory from them. On the contrary, He manifests His own glory in and by them. He is the fountain-head of all being, and the origin, channel and end of all things. Over all His creatures He is sovereign . . .
· Three divine Persons constitute the Godhead-the Father, the Son (or the Word), and the Holy Spirit. They are one in substance, in power, and in eternity. Each is fully God, and yet the Godhead is one and indivisible. The Father owes His being to none. He is Father to the Son who is eternally begotten of Him. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. These Persons, one infinite and eternal God not to be divided in being, are distinguished in Scripture by their personal nature or in relations within the Godhead, and by the variety of works which they undertake. Their tri-unity (that is, the doctrine of the Trinity) is the essential basis of all our fellowship with God, and of the comfort we derive from our dependence upon Him.
Some biblical passages use the term God intending to include all three persons, some refer to just one person of the trinity, some passages list two or all three persons. The Old Testament divine name Yahweh is used for one of three persons of the trinity separately in some passages and in others texts the divine name is used of the three persons together as one being. It is not exclusive to just God the Father in every passage.
Jesus always being God, on the first Christmas also became a man. He lived a holy life in our place. He died in our place to pay for our sins. He arose in the same body from the tomb. He will remain God and Man in His glorified body forever. Yet being fully God He possesses all the divine attributes, characteristics, essence, and abilities, including omnipresence, even when He was on the earth.
We hold on to these facts and the full mystery involved in them with the humility to admit our small brains cannot illustrate them, demonstrate them, or explain them so a 5 year old can grasp them. Our God is too big and too unique for that.
We are going to a few of the Apostle Paul Epistles and see the trinity worked out in the text of Scripture to churches with real problems and real needs that Paul is going to address.
Direction
1. Paul’s description of the trinity in the book of Ephesians.
2. Paul’s defense of the deity of Yeshu’a the Messiah in Colossians chapter 1.
3. Paul’s description of the God-Man Yeshu’a in Philippians chapter 2.
So to begin, let’s consider
I. Paul’s description of the trinity in the book of Ephesians.
A. In chapter one he separates out the work of the three persons of the trinity.
1. God the Father has a plan and a people vs 3-6, 9-11
2. God the Son redeems, ransoms, purchases the people vs 7-8, 12-13d
3. God the Holy Spirit seals us and is our down payment to prove our final deliverance is a sure thing vs 13e-14
4. We could also go verse by verse in this chapter and see the clear distinction between the three persons of the trinity, Father, Son, Spirit
B. Ephesians chapter 2
1. The Father caused our spiritual deadness to be reversed by raising us from the dead and saved us by grace giving us the gift of faith 1-11
2. The Son is perfect life and cross work has fulfilled the ceremonial law and brought unity between Gentile and Jewish believers in Yeshua the Messiah 12-16
3. The trinity in * vs 18
4. Membership in the one body of Christ by the Son, Father, and Spirit 19-22
C. Ephesians chapter 3
1. The Son, the Father, the Spirit vs. 1-5
2. The Son, Father, Spirit, read vs 14-19 (10-21)
D. Ephesians chapter 4
1. Three persons, yet God is one, read vs. 1-6
2. Proof of the personhood of the Spirit * vs. 30 Has anyone grieved the wind or electricity? You cannot disappoint or displease a force.
E. Ephesians chapter 5
1. God as the trinity, then the Son and the Father * vs. 1-2
2. The Kingdom of Christ = Kingdom of God vs. 5
3. The term “Lord” is used for all three persons at once vs. 10
4. The Father, Son, Spirit vs. 18-20
F. Ephesians chapter 6
1. The Holy Spirit, 17-18, The Holy Spirit inspired the word, superintended the prophets, and illuminates the word, indwells the believer, convicts, and assists us when we pray
2. God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give peace, love, faith vs. 23
Argumentation: Is this the only book Paul does this in? No, it is in all his letters.
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. (1 Tim 3:16 NKJV)
Jesus is truly God
13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
(Titus 2:13-14 NASB)
Jesus the Messiah is our great God and Savior, but in both of these books, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are separate persons, but one in being, nature, essence, substance. All three are truly and fully God.
ILL. Vance Havner said, “I don’t understand how electricity works and produces light. But I am not going to sit in the dark until I do.” Embrace what the Bible says about God’s nature, affirm what it affirms, deny what it denies. That is all you need to do. You don’t have to explain it on a child’s level. Hold firmly to the trinity, God is one in being, three in persons, and these three are equal in power and glory.
II. Paul’s defense of the deity of Yeshu’a the Messiah in Col 1:12-23.
A. Background to Colossians is a heresy Paul is refuting. An early form of Gnosticism, Greek philosophy, mixed with Jewish ceremonies. You can see this influence in the writings of Philo Judeas of Alexandria, Egypt. Matter is evil, Spirit is good, so it was the 8th emanation of the good God that created matter.
B. No Greek philosopher would want a resurrection; they wanted to be free from the prison house of the body. So they denied the deity of Jesus the Messiah and is oneness with God the Father. They used angels as the beings that created when mixed with Judaism.
C. Read Col 1:12-23
1. The Father transferred us to the Kingdom of the Son, whom He loves 12-13
2. Jesus is the one through whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sins 14
3. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, one in nature with the Father, who is spirit (John 4)
* vs 15
4. Jesus is the firstborn, the privileged and preeminent one over all of creation. Vs 15
He will call to Me, 'You are my Father, my God, the rock of my salvation.' 27 I will also make him My firstborn, greatest of the kings of the earth. 28 I will always preserve My faithful love for him, and My covenant with him will endure. (Psa 89:26-28 HCSB)
ANE treaty the emperor called the governors his sons and they called him father, his first born, is his favorite chosen governor that he has a treaty with who is not kin to him at all. This is first applied to David, not the first person God had a covenant with or his first creation, and then to the Messiah, Yeshu’a. vs 15
5. Note Jesus creates all things, not some, not the rest, all vs 15
6. Again, everything visible and invisible, angels, planets, minerals, atoms
All were created by King Jesus. He is God.
7. He is not the 8th emanation or an angel, He is before all things vs 17
8. He holds all the atoms together by the word of his power
If he lets go, atomic explosion. He still did this work while on earth. 17
9. Jesus is the beginning, He is the first in privilege to have a resurrected glorified body, He is the preeminent one in everything LORD * vs 18
10. All the fullness of God dwells in Yeshu’a, Paul uses their terms against them * vs 19 Jesus is God
11. Read 20-23 The eternal Son of God came to earth, became a man to die for sinners. Do you know Him? Do you belong to Him? Has he rescued you yet? You embrace the Christ by Repentance and faith with a full surrender to His Lordship. Like Thomas, you say, My Lord and My God. He is the boss, and He is God.
A. ILL. JW, When the Russelites come to your door and want to tell you that Jesus was a created being, a subordinate being, actually Michael the Archangel, and the Holy Spirit is a force, and God is Jehovah, one person and one being, don’t you believe that heresy for a minute. The Watchtower is in error and they have twisted the Bible, especially their New World Translation. They even have the wrong name for God, besides their attack on the person and work of Jesus. They deny his bodily resurrection and salvation by grace. Do not let them into your house as 2 John vs. 10 commands.
III. Paul’s description of the God-Man Yeshu’a in Philippians chapter 2:5-11.
A. LOOK AT THE MESSIAH’S MENTAL PERSPECTIVE. Read vs 5-7
Explanation: Context is two women fighting in the church, see chapter 4. Youoweme and Sotochie. For unity to be maintained in the church, the members have to be humble. Christ modeled this better than anyone, so He is Paul’s example. Mind – Form: outward appearance – displays - inside Honey Jar –clear to all in Heaven Jesus – God –outside – inside – 6 - Clutch – glory veiled – perspective opposite – pride – selfishness – Jesus never ceased – God – added not subtracted – 7- no reputation (empty), glory veiled Christ always God became man hypostatic union of the two full natures, fully God and fully man. He was always God the Son, but he stepped into time and history to become man. That act was one of humility. He possessed no splendid form for us to see, no desirable appearance. (Isa 53:2 CEB)
Argumentation: In Matt. 17 we see the one instance Jesus removed the veil for 3 disciples and they got a glimpse of His glory, but to everyone else He looked just like an ordinary man. Mark. I came not to be served but to serve and to give . . .No greater love has a man than this, to lay down his life for His friends, there is no self-seeking here! Paul is making a case, if the greatest one, the God-Man can be a slave, should not also the lesser ones, His disciples be slaves? Sure, Euodia & Snytyche, can serve others.
Application: What does this model teach us? We are to not try to get things done our way only & look out for only our interests. The model here is the Messiah’s perspective, His attitude, mindset was one of humility. Now if he was only a man or an angel or just a created being, he could not humble himself by not fighting to retain his former heavenly glory. Only a divine uncreated person could humble himself in this way. Just a man would be in deep sin if he tried to obtain the divine prerogatives and he would have never had them to begin with as a mere man. You cannot fight to keep what you never had. Jesus was no mere man. He is the eternal Son of God with no beginning and no end. He added humanity to his person-hood as the second person of the trinity in order to rescue us from our sin.
4 I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I shared with you before the world was created. (John 17:4-5 CEB)
A mere man could not have said this. No angels shared equal glory with God the Father or God the Son. When He again brings His firstborn into the world, He says, And all God's angels must worship Him. (Heb 1:6 HCSB)
And in Jesus prayer in John 17 you have God the Son speaking to God the Father. Two divine persons, yet one in being, essence, nature, and glory.
B. LOOK AT THE MESSIAH’S PATTERN. Read vs. 8
Explanation: Appeared as a man, He was – God-Man, fully God – fully Man, He humbled … death – cross, 5 descents – 1) from heaven, 2) glory hidden, as a man 3) slave among men, 4) death, 5) cursed death on cross (Electric Chair, concentration camp) He was crushed for the rebellion of his people to whom the punishment was due (Isa 53) He bore our curse, humbled for us, His pain, our gain
Argumentation: The Bible teaches Jesus is God. Heb. 1:8 “But to the Son He says: Your throne, O God is forever and ever.” And Jesus became Man as well, Heb. 2:14 “just as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death.” Mat. 1:23 “they shall call His name, Immanuel, God with us.” As hard as it is to grasp, we must repeat what the Bible teaches without dumbing it down into a heretical position.
C. LOOK AT THE MESSIAH’S PATIENCE. Vs. 9-11
Explanation: Waiting for God’s timing, waiting for heaven to settle certain issues requires patience. Jesus did it! Look – “Therefore” reason for Christ’s exaltation – humility first. He was raised (past tense) highest point. This is at his ascension, recorded in Psa 24 as the King of glory returns back to heaven. He was given a title above all other titles Look at the word “LORD” -- worship of men and angels. In the Old Testament translation into Greek, called the Septuagint, about 250 BC they used the Greek word kurios to translate Yahweh the most. That is the Greek term Paul uses here. And he puts it first. Kurios is Yeshu’a the Messiah. Yahweh is Yeshu’a the Messiah. LORD is Jesus Christ. It is most certainly a term that means boss, master, but it most assuredly means God. He is Lord. Yahweh. Jesus is fully God and all beings in the universe SHOULD acknowledge it right now. The ones who belong to Jesus, men and angels, bow to worship whenever they here this phrase and title given to the exalted and glorified God-man at His coronation when He ascended in Acts 1 and returned to His former glory have finished the work he was sent to do. LORD is Yeshu’a the Messiah! When you say this as an act of worship you are not only pleasing the Son of God, but you are bringing glory to God the Father.
Argumentation: Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all of the house of Israel know for sure that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.” A past event.
12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
13 "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son . . .
16 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17 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 14:12-17 NASB)
13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
15 "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He [the Spirit] takes of Mine and will disclose it to you. (John 16:13-15 NASB)
ILL. LDS, When they come on their bikes and try to tell you that Elohim sired Jesus spirit from one of his 100 wives on his far away planet and then later came down and had a physical relationship with Mary of Nazareth so Jesus could have a physical beginning and could later become a god from a man just like Elohim did, don’t tolerate that heresy at your house. They had a faulty leader, Joseph Smith and they have several faulty books, including the book of Mormon. The trinity is not up for debate. This is a first level doctrine that you may not compromise on one little bit.
Conclusion
Review
The Trinity can be defined like this: within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and co-eternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
3 Foundations
a. God is one in being, nature, essence, attributes
b. God is three in persons, Father, Son, Spirit
c. These three persons are coequal and co-eternal
Look for these foundational elements as you read your Bible. They are there over and over again so that you can embrace the truth about the God who created the world, and the God who saves sinners.
You need to get these elements right, and accept the mystery of all that they imply by faith.
We need to also state what is untrue about the biblical doctrine of the trinity as well as what is true.
There are not three Gods. There are not three beings called God.
There is not only one person in heaven pretending to be three or one person with three different titles.
The Son of God is not a created being and he is totally separate from Michael the Archangel, a person and being He created, contra JW’s.
The Holy Spirit is not a mere force like electricity or the wind, but is a full person. He is not an “it,” He is to be referred to as a He, a person with a mind, will, and divine emotions and all the attributes and power of God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ.
What is true, God is one in being, but the godhead described in the Bible is at the same time, three in persons, namely the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Son of God and the Holy Spirit have always existed and are outside of time as is God the Father.
The false gods of the cults and world religions cannot deliver your soul from sins power, control, and everlasting punishment. Only Jesus, who is fully God and fully man can save you from the wrath to come. Run to Jesus.
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