Bible Lesson - Trinity

The Holy Trinity

INTRODUCTION

The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the greatest things that separate Christianity from all other religions of the world.

• It can be difficult to grasp and one of the hardest doctrines to understand

• It is the idea that we worship one God, not three Gods (polytheism), who has revealed Himself in three Persons. It’s not 1+1+1=3 (3 Gods) but 1x1x1=1 (3 persons but ONE God).

• Yet the doctrine of the Trinity needs to be preached and taught more – although it is complicated, it is absolutely necessary as it fundamental to all the we say, all that we are, and all that we believe as Bible believing Christians.

• The Bible completely condemns the worship of any god but Jehovah God.

• We worship The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit

Isaiah 6:1-8

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

• The prophet Isaiah was speaking in this passage

• A “train” is the part of a king’s robe that attendants often would carry. The longer the train, the greater the majesty of the king We are told Lord’s train filled the temple!!

• In verse 3 Isaiah said the work “holy” not one, nor twice, but three times perhaps given us an insight into holy is the Father, holy is the Son, and holy is the Spirit.

• In verse 8, we would expect the Lord to ask, “Who will go for Me?”

• “Whom shall I send” is singular but “who will go for us?” is plural

• We can never learn about the Trinity by human logic, or looking up “Trinity” in the concordance of our Bibles, by philosophy, by mathematics, or by science – only by divine revelation by reading and understanding the narrative of God’s Holy Word – the Bible.

It may sound contradictory that God is one (one God), and yet God is three (three Persons).

• Don’t worry if you cannot fully understand it. Sorta like an ocean. We only swim and enjoy the ocean where it meets the shore but the ocean is vastly larger.

• We wouldn’t have much confidence in a God that we could understand.

• It has been said, “To try to explain the Trinity, you lose your mind; deny it, you lose your soul.”

• The Trinity is not contrary to logic; the Trinity is beyond logic.

• Infinity and Eternity – Infinity is space that never ends. Eternity is existence that never ceases and never had a beginning. - We cannot understand either with our feeble minds – it is beyond us.

• God is infinite and God is eternal. Charles Wesley said “When a worm can understand a man, then maybe man can understand God.

• Even the best illustrations fall short in fully illustrating the Trinity. Everything else can be compared to everything else. For example – one man can be compared to another man. One chair can be compared to another chair. But there is only one God. There is nothing we can say that God is like because God in not like anything else – God is God. He is separate!!

Reflections of the Trinity in Creation

• Space – space is height, width, and depth. You can’t have height without width, width without depth, or depth without height. Height, width, and depth are all part of the same space – each being distinct, yet each is distinguishable and inseparable.

• Time – past, present, and future. You can’t have a past without a present, a present without a future, or future without a past. Again they are all distinguishable, yet all are part of the same (time).

• Man is body, soul, and spirit. Man is made in the image of triune God and has a triune nature.

• Key Point – There is absolutely nothing we can compare God to – we serve a BIG God!!!

• Sometimes folks may say that there is just one God, but that HE appears to us in three different modes/roles – like Timmy being a pastor, a father, and a husband. The Trinity is far deeper. We are not talking about three different modes/roles in which God appears but that there are three distinct Persons in the Godhead.

• Think about the Jewish disciples of Jesus Christ. They were well versed in the scriptures and would understand what Deuteronomy had to say about God being one God! Yet they had a personal encountered with Jesus – that is why Peter’s revelation is so vital!!

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

• The disciples did not gather in a room and suddenly decide to create the Trinity. We find the Trinity in the Old Testament – in the very first verse in the Bible!

Genesis 1:1

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

• In this verse, the word for God is the plural noun “Elohim”. Notice the ending “im”. One angel is called a seraph or cherub; more than one angels are called seraphim or cherubim.

• It is a plurality acting in unison – “In the beginning, Gods created the Heaven and the Earth”

• The Trinity can be seen in the creation of the Heaven and the Earth

Genesis 1:26

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

• In this verse, the word for God is the plural noun “Elohim”.

• God was not speaking to the angels; we are not made in the likeness of the angels. He was speaking as Jehovah God communing with the Son and the Holy Spirit.

• Who made everything?

  Genesis 1:1 says that God made it.

  John 1:1-3 says that Jesus made it.

  Job 26:13 says that the Holy Spirit made it.

“Gods” (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) made the Heaven and the Earth

Deuteronomy 6:4-5

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: 5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

• The Jew’s great profession of faith is called the Shema – found in this passage

• Jesus answers a question about the greatest commandment by referencing this passage in Mark 12:29-30.

• The word “Lord” comes from the word “Jehovah” (singular) and just like in Genesis 1:1, the word “God” comes from “Elohim” (plural). And the word “one”, “echad” means a collective one and not a singular digit. One flesh (Gen 2:24), one people (Gen 11:6), one cluster of grapes (Num 13:23), one troop (2 Sam 2:25) among others convey this.

• We can read it this way - “Hear, O Israel: The Jehovah, our Elohim, is one Lord.”

• God was telling Israel that Jehovah, our Gods, is a unity.

God’s Son in the Old Testament

• We did not suddenly learn in the New Testament that God has a son – God the Son is in the Old Testament

Daniel 3:19-25

19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Proverbs 30:4

4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?

Psalm 2:6-7

6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Isaiah 48:12-17

12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. 13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. 14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. 15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. 16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me. 17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

• God was speaking in this passage and talking about Himself. He is the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega and everything between. He is the one who made everything.

• Verse 16 – God sent God. Lord God (Father), his Spirit (Holy Spirit), me (the Son).

• Verse 17 – JESUS is thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 63:9-10

9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

• “He” is Jehovah God, “the angel of his presence” is the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit.

• The Holy Spirit here is a person who can be vexed.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

Luke 1:35 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Matthew 3:16-17 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Matthew 28:19 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

John 14:26 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 15:26 26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

2 Corinthians 13:14 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

1 Peter 1:22 22 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Let us rejoice that we have a Triune God who has provided for us a Trinitarian salvation. Recall on the cross that Jesus who normally referred to God the Father as Father or my Father cried out “My God, my God why has thou forsaken me?”. When we were lost in sin, our God acted in every Person of his being to save us. The Father gave the Son, the Son offered himself on the Cross, and the Holy Spirit brought us to Jesus. We were so lost that it took every member of the Godhead to save us.