You Asked for It 2008
part 2
Reflections
On the Trinity
by
Greg Hanson
Sunrise Wesleyan Church
August 24, 2008
At the beginning of the Service:
What do these words have in common?
Sasquatch
Asparagus
Minivan
Salad
Gertrude
Photography
Television
Trinity
None
of them appear in the Bible. I don’t know if there are any other things
they have in common or not, but that’s one I’m sure of. Now, you’re
probably not all that surprised that you won’t find “Sasquatch” in the
Bible. But you might be surprised that the word “Trinity” isn’t there.
After all, the doctrine of the Trinity is central to Christianity and
our understanding of God.
Later on this morning we’re going to
be exploring this a bit further. If the word Trinity isn’t from the
Bible, where is it from? And is it a true picture of who God is? Why is
it even important? Those are the kinds of things we’re going to be
talking about later on this morning.
****************
Video – Lee Stobel discussing the mystery of the Trinity
Lee
Strobel in that video was right – the Trinity is difficult to
understand. Some of you may have found yourself questioning the very
concept of One God being expressed in Three Persons. In fact, if you’ve
never found yourself questioning it, I would say you’ve probably never
even thought about it.
For nearly 2000 years, believers have
struggled to understand the nature of God. And what we’ve discovered
has been summarized in our doctrine of the Trinity.
Now, this is
our second week in our “You Asked for It” message series, our annual
August series when we deal with specific passages or topics that you
have requested. Last week, we talked about Princesses of the Bible.
That was the request for last week. So we’re going from that last week
to the Trinity this week. It’s always and interesting variety, isn’t it?
So
what I want to do this morning is this: I want to share with you five
reflections on the Trinity. And then we’ll discuss why understanding
the Trinity is important. So let’s start with…
Reflections
On the Trinity:
1.
The word “trinity” is not found in the Bible.
A
lot of people get hung up on this right here. They think, “the word
Trinity isn’t in the Bible so I’m not going to believe in the Trinity.”
But the problem is, they fail to understand what the word is. No one
ever claimed that the word Trinity is in the Bible; what we do claim is
that the Trinity summarizes what the Bible does teach about the nature
of God.
Think about it like this: You’re not going to find the
word Eschatology in the Bible, either. But that word refers to the
collective teachings of the Bible about the End Times.
You’re not going to find the word Bible in the Bible. Does that mean
the Bible doesn’t exist?
You’re not going to find the word pornography in the Bible, but the
Bible has plenty to say about the problem of pornography.
The Trinity is not a Biblical word, but it is a Biblical concept.
2.
It is a term that describes what the Bible teaches about the nature of
God
So
the word itself isn’t in the Bible, but that doesn’t mean that the
Bible doesn’t talk about the Trinity. In fact, we didn’t come up with
the idea of the Trinity and then try to find it in the Bible; we found
it in the Bible and then came up with the term to explain it. This is
what the Bible teaches…
The Bible
teaches that…
•
The Father is God
(John 6:27; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Peter 1:2)
•
The Son is God
(Mark 5:19-20; Luke 8:39; John 8:58; John 20:28-29; Philippians 2:6;
Colossians 1:16-17; Revelation 17:14)
•
The Holy Spirit is God
(Matthew
3:16; Luke 4:18; John 14:16-17, 26; John 15:26; John 16:7-15; Acts
5:3-4; Acts 5:32; Acts 9:14; Acts 13:2; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians
4:30)
•
There is One God
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10; Isaiah 44:6-8; Isaiah 45:22; 1
Corinthians 8:4; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19)
So
the word Trinity is used to describe this. But as we’ve already
discovered, the term is not found on the pages of the Bible. So where
did the word “trinity” come from?
Well, you need to understand
first of all that the idea of a triune God was a revolutionary concept
for the early Christians. Most of them had grown up as Jews
understanding that there is only one God.
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV)
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
This
was central to the Jewish faith. They were fiercely monotheistic… they
were unwavering in their belief that there is one and only one true
God. And this belief is affirmed over and over again throughout the
Bible.
And then Jesus shows up on the scene. And He pulls this
group of disciples around Him, and they watch Him over the next few
years as He teaches about the Kingdom of Heaven, and as He performs
many miracles, and little by little they come to understand that this
is God in the flesh.
In fact, two years into it, Jesus asked His followers…
Matthew 16:13-16 (NLT)
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and
others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
And
Jesus affirmed that Peter got the answer right. But I’m not sure that
Peter understood the significance of it yet. I don’t think he really
grasped it until after Jesus was crucified, and buried, and then rose
from the dead. And even then I think it took him some time to process
it.
Or how about Paul? Paul was an educated Jew who studied
under the leading Rabbi of the day. He was well aware that there was
only One God, and He knew the difference between one and three. That’s
why he was so strongly opposed to the early Christians. But then He
encountered Jesus Himself. An incredible story you can read about for
yourself in Acts 9. How could this be? How could God the Father be the
one and only God, and Jesus be God, too? Well, Paul disappeared for
about fourteen years, and I’m sure that during that time Paul wrestled
with these types of questions, trying to grasp the nature of God. And
when He resurfaced and began His own missionary ministry, it would
appear that He came to understand that God was One God revealed in
three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Well,
that’s what the early Believers understood about God. But it wasn’t
until around the year 200 that the Latin Theologian Tertullian first
used the word Trinity to describe the nature of God as one in essence
but not in person.
And then about a century later, at the First
Council of Nicaea, this understanding of the nature of God was
officially formulated into the doctrine of the Trinity.
You see,
there was this one church leader in Northern Egypt named Arius, and
around AD 313 he mixed some Greek philosophy into his beliefs and began
to teach that Jesus was a created god, the very first creation by God
the Father. Kind of like “God 2: the Sequel”, or God-junior. A belief,
by the way, which Jehovah’s Witnesses cling to today.
But there
were others who argued, “No, Jesus is God, always has been God, always
will be God. He had no beginning and has no end. He and God are one.”
And
over the next few years, this dispute built until Emperor Constantine,
in the year 325, called together around 300 bishops to the city of
Nicaea in modern-day Turkey to resolve it. Both sides were listened to,
and the debate revolved around two words in particular…
Homoousios = “of one substance”
vs. Homoiousios = “of like substance”
You
know the phrase, “It doesn’t make one iota of difference”? Well, it
comes right from this Council and these two words. Homoousios means of
one substance. But with the “i”—or the Greek letter iota—put into the
word, it changes the meaning.
Now, which word best explained
Jesus’ relationship with God the Father? That was the question the
Council was trying to answer. If Jesus Himself had been created, then
He’d be homoiousios – He’d be of like (similar) substance to the
Father, but certainly not on the same level. However, if He was
homoousios, of one substance or of the same substance, then He’d be an
equal part in the Godhead… with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
And
they didn’t take this issue lightly. The Council began on May 20 and
lasted until July 25. And they spent the entire first month on this one
issue.
But when it was all settled, the Council affirmed what
had been believed and taught for almost three centuries. Jesus is
indeed “of one substance” with God the Father and is a vital and equal
part of the Godhead… the Trinity. And while it’s difficult to grasp the
very nature of God, the basic summary is that there is only one God,
and He’s expressed in Three Persons… God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit.
Well, by the end of the Council, the
bishops who were there expressed themselves in the form of a statement
of belief… a creed… which we know as the Nicene Creed. Here’s part of
what the Creed says…
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.
…
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father [and the Son].
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified…
So
the word Trinity is not found in the pages of the Bible. But the
concept is based on strong Biblical teaching and has been examined and
evaluated and dissected and thought through and fought through over the
years.
3.
It is not a contradiction to describe God as “Three in One”
A
lot of people believe it is. A lot of people will point to the doctrine
of the Trinity and conclude that it’s illogical, it’s unreasonable, and
it’s contradictory. They would say that simple mathematics can disprove
the Trinity: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3, not 1. Only an idiot would claim otherwise.
Well,
don’t you think the early believers knew what 1 +1 + 1 equal? I mean,
many of them were very well educated. And even the ones who weren’t,
I’m sure they could tell the difference between 1 and 3. Hey, there
were even tax collectors among them. If their math were off, I’m sure
they would have conducted an audit and found the error. So I’m sure
they wrestled with this seeming contradiction themselves.
And
besides, if they were just going to come up with a doctrine on their
own and then try to convince others to buy into it, don’t you think
they would have come up with something simpler than this? They knew the
opposition they would face.
Plus, as theologian Norman Geisler points out…
“God is triune, not triplex. His one essence has multiple centers of
personhood.”
~ Norman Geisler
In other words, he’s say that it’s not 1 + 1 + 1 = 3; it’s 1 x 1 x 1 =
3.
Geisler further explained the Trinity this way…
“The
Trinity is not the belief that God is three persons and only one person
at the same time and in the same sense. That would be a contradiction.
Rather, it is the belief that there are three persons in one nature.
This may be a mystery but it is not a contradiction. That is, it may go
beyond reason’s ability to comprehend completely, but it does not go
against reason’s ability to apprehend consistently. Further, the
Trinity is not the belief that there are three natures in one nature or
three essences in one essence. That would be a contradiction. Rather,
Christians affirm that there are three persons in one essence.”
~ Norman Geisler
So
there is a mystery, but there’s no contradiction. The doctrine of the
Trinity may go beyond reason, but it does not go against reason.
Ravi
Zacharias is a Christian philosopher and speaker and one of my
favourite people to listen to. One of the things he does is travel
around to different universities holding open forums where students can
ask him whatever questions they want to ask. Take a look at this one..
Video – Ravi Zacharias
(Fields a question about how the Trinity does not violate the law of
non-contradiction)
So there is a mystery, but there’s no contradiction. God is three in
person, but one in essence.
4.
Our understanding of God grows over time
My
wife and I have been married for ten years this October. I knew her
pretty well when we first got married, but I can honestly say that I
know her better now. And yet, in many ways she’s still a mystery to me
– she is a woman, after all.
That’s the way it is in a
relationship. I get to know her better and better over time as I
discover more of who she is and as she reveals more of herself to me
and as I process all of that and as I come to understand her better
today than I did yesterday.
Does it surprise you that God works
like that? Does it surprise you that the more you get to know Him, you
come to realize that you will never fully understand Him? Does it
surprise you that even in Theology we will never get to the point that
we know everything about God.
“[God] is infinitely beyond our capacity to apprehend. There’s always
more.”
~ Stuart McAllister
Richard
Dawkins is the leading atheist in the world today. A couple years ago
he wrote his bestselling book, “The God Delusion.” I’ve actually read
it. And I was very disappointed in his understanding of what the Bible
actually teaches and what Christians believe. He seems to make
assumptions and then argue against them, even though his assumptions
about what Christians believe is often way off target.
Well, one
of his arguments against the existence of God is that we can’t
comprehend who God is. We can’t understand the Trinity. But isn’t God
beyond our comprehension by very definition? I mean, if we understood
the nature of God completely, would He really be God? Personally, I
want a God who’s too big for me to grasp. I want a God I can understand
more and more as time goes on but never reach the end.
Think
about this: in the world of science, new discoveries and theories and
experiments are based on the science of the past. It’s progressive. As
the centuries pass, there is more and more that we discover and come to
understand.
It’s the same way with Theology. Yes, God has
revealed Himself to us through Scripture. But our understanding of that
grows and deepens. The work of theologians today is built on the
foundation of theologians of the past. It’s not like we start from
ground zero with every generation. It’s progressive.
5.
The tendency is to go too far toward either the “One” or the “Three”
Because
the Trinity is a difficult concept to grasp, we tend to swerve to one
side or the other. For instance, we might start to think of there being
three Gods. And we need to remember that there are not three Gods;
there is only One God expressed in three persons. Otherwise, we end up
believing a form of polytheism – a belief in many gods.
Or we
might swerve to the opposite side and start to believe that there’s
only one Person who wears different hats. Kind of like a one-man play,
God shows up dressed as the Father for a while, then goes backstage and
returns as the Son, and then puts on a mask and becomes the Holy
Spirit. This is called Modalism, believing that God just expresses
himself through different modes. And there are churches right here in
Charlottetown that would teach something like that. You might here them
referred to as “Jesus-Only” or “Oneness Theology.”
But what this
view fails to recognize is that there are times in Scripture when all
three persons of the Godhead are present or referred to at the same
time. Like this one…
Luke 3:21-22 (NLT)
One day when the
crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was
praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form,
descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my
dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
All three persons of the Trinity in the same two verses.
Or how about when Paul wrote…
2 Corinthians 13:14 (NLT)
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Or
how about when Jesus prayed. Who was He talking to? He was talking to
God the Father. Or how about when Jesus explained to His disciples that
He would be leaving them and sending them another Counsellor – the Holy
Spirit. He didn’t say, “I’m going to go away and come back as someone
else.” No, He was going to send someone else. So it’s clear that it’s
not just different manifestations of the same person. It’s three
different persons, but only one God.
About 800 years ago,
someone put all of this in a diagram that’s known today as the Shield
of the Trinity. You see this in your notes…
So that’s
the Trinity – One God in three Persons. But who really cares? Why is
this important? Why should you know about this? Well, one reason is…
Why
is the Trinity Important?
A.
It helps me understand God better
I’ll
never understand Him completely, but I want to understand Him as best
as I can. And an understanding of the Trinity helps me to do that. And
this is important because we want to know the God we worship. In fact,
we can’t worship God authentically if we don’t know what He’s like.
B.
It helps me understand myself better
To
understand myself, I must understand the God in whose image I’m
created. For example, when I come to understand that God experiences a
sense of community within the Trinity, that helps me understand why I
also crave to live in community with others. Because I’m created in the
image of God, that means I possess that same desire.
C.
It helps me understand how God works in my life
Video – Lee Strobel and Dr. William Lane Craig
(describes
how the Father sent the Son, the Son died for our redemption and
conquered death, and the Holy Spirit works in our lives today
convicting, guiding, and empowering us)
Next week, we’re going to take a closer look at one of the Persons of
the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.
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