THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP - THE TRIUNE GOD

October 15, 2013 The Discipline of Getting To Know God - The Trinity The Trinity is one of those incomprehensible mysteries of the Bible. We know “tri” means three – like: a tricycle is a three wheeled cycle; a triangle is anything with three sides – a polygon, a musical instrument, a drafting instrument, etc. Webster describes the “Trinity” of the Bible as, “the unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit as three persons in one godhead – union of three in one: a triad.” The word “Trinity” is not used in the Bible, but just alluded to and taught. In Genesis 1:26 when all of creation was being formed God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Then in Genesis 3:22, after Adam and Eve had sinned, “the Lord God said, ‘Behold the man is become one of us, to know good and evil.’” In Isaiah 6:8, Isaiah said, “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ In the New Testament there are many allusions to the Trinity: 1) In Matthew 1:18, when Mary, a virgin, “as found with child of the Holy Ghost” (the third person of the Trinity). 2) The Trinity was very clearly spoken of in Luke 1:35, “The angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest (the Father) shall overshadow you; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.” 3) Again in Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist was speaking of the Son, Jesus, when he said, “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” 4) In Matthew 28:19, Jesus gave what we call the Great Commission when He said, “Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” 5) Again in John 14:16,17 & 26, the Trinity is named, where Jesus said, “And I (Jesus, the Son) will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of Truth; He dwells in you. The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things.” 6) After Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came (Acts 2), Peter stood and addressed a message to all in Jerusalem speaking about the Trinity, “This Jesus God raised up, and of that all we (His disciples) are witnesses. Being therefore lifted high by and to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promised blessing which is the Holy Spirit, He has made this outpouring which you yourselves both see and hear” (Acts 2:32-33). 7) John makes the Trinity very clear in I John 5:7, “There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one.” A Doxology from Paul to the Church in Corinth says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it).” Charles Colson gives a simple, but accurate, definition of the Trinity, “God above, God Beside, and God Within.” Our Father God is - Above us; our Savior is - God Beside us; and we have a Spirit Who is – God Within us. We are triply blessed in every way through the Trinity, this is how His grace is conveyed to us." There are many more scriptures I could site, but if you believe the Word of God is the Truth, then even one of these scriptures is enough to prove there is a “Trinity,” a three-in-one godhead - The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost. As I like to say, “If God says it, I believe it, and that settles it.” We don’t have to understand it (in fact, we can’t understand it with our finite minds). If we could understand all about God we would be God and God wouldn’t be God. He is too high, too transcendent, too infinite in all His attributes; while we are just finite, created beings who become so full of ourselves we try to play God with our refusing to believe in an Almighty God Who created us and loves us enough to send His only Son to die for us so we could fellowship and someday live with Him. I can’t understand why God the Father would send the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) to come and live within those who will accept and trust in Him, and Jesus as His Son. I can’t understand why He would love us even when we do not love Him. I can’t understand this God Who is 100% love. He can do nothing else but love us. He doesn’t love our rebellion and waywardness, indifference toward Him – those attitudes and actions grieve Him. He doesn’t love the wickedness of men, but the Holy Spirit continues to call and woo us to Himself; He continues to illuminate the Truth of the scriptures to those who want to know the Truth; He enables us to walk free from the pull and bondage of those things in the world. I don’t have to understand the Trinity to embrace and trust in God, the three-in-one. I don’t understand how electricity in the air can be harnessed and put in wires to be transmitted to my house’s fuse box, and when I flick a switch the light comes on; when I plug in the electrical wire the refrigerator runs, the washing machine can wash clothes and the dryer dry clothes and etc. I don’t understand it all but I choose to believe in it and trust it to keep my food cool; to light my lamp; to wash and dry my clothes. In the same way we don’t completely understand the Trinity, who is the Almighty God and all His attributes and ways, but we can choose to believe in Him and His Word – the Bible. That belief and trust with all our hearts (not just head belief) is what makes us “children of God” and we have been chosen to live with the Trinity, the God of the universe forever!! Gloria Patri Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost! As it was in the beginning, is now and every shall be, World without end, Amen, Amen! (unknown, 2nd century)