The knowability of God

Who is God?Understanding and

Experiencing God as Trinity

Recovering the Trinity in every aspect of our Christian experience: prayer, worship, relationship, mission, teaching

1. Why is the Trinity non existent? Many reasons, one of the main reasons is in using the term TRINTY, we are using NON-BIBLICAL language: we donʼt encounter the term in scripture and so it is a lost lense through which we might think of and speak of our God. By default, it is as distant from our every day lives.

2. Today we will 1) Discover the Biblical basis for the Trinity, 2) begin to understand who God is in Himself as Triune, and 3) explore the Trinitarian implications for our lives

What might we profit?Understanding who God is will define WHY

you and I exist, WHO we are as persons, and

HOW we may be most fulfilled individually, in

relationship to other persons, to the natural

world, and to our Creator.

“We are speaking of God,

why marvel if you do not

understand? For if you

comprehend He is not

God.”

Augustine

Read quote

As we begin, let us not forget that we are seeking to understand that which is ultimately beyond our comprehension. God is mystery:

Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.***

The reality is this: we cannot speak EXHAUSTIVELY about God, BUT we can speak SUFFICIENTLY about Him.

In the West we typically start with ‘WHAT God is’

• But the Bible starts with Who God is

• The Bible rarely defends God’s existence

• God comes to us personally as Father, Son, and Spirit

We learn WHAT God is by understanding WHO God has disclosed himself to be.

1. BIBLE STARTS WITH WHO GOD IS: Although it is the earliest book in human history to mention Atheism (Proverbs 14:1; 53:1 ʻThe fool says in his heart there is no Godʼ) the Bible rarely defends Godʼs existence.

2. THE BIBLE REVEALS A PERSONAL GOD: To the contrary, God comes to us personally as Father, Son, and Spirit.

While not having a body like a created being (though he may assume form) God is profoundly personal. He created man and woman in the Divine Image. God is the ultimate basis for our personhood and our ability to have meaningful relationships with others.

We learn WHAT God is by understanding WHO God has disclosed himself to be: the God of the Bible has disclosed himself as One God who is Tri-personal, who is PLURALITY in UNITY, who is Trinity

“God ETERNALLY EXISTS as three persons,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each is FULLY

GOD, and there is ONE GOD.”

Wayne Grudem, SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY (Zondervan 1994), 226

This is a great working definition of Trinity from Wayne Grudem

NOT GOD WITH THREE PARTSIt is important to understand that we are not saying God is made up of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as if the Father comprises 1/3 of God, the Son 1/3 of God and the Spirit 1/3 of God.

Each Person is Fully God: One God indivisible in Three Persons.

Distinction

EACH PERSON IS DISTINCT FROM THE OTHERCharles Ryrie gives us a helpful graphic to explain the distinction within the Trinity

There is distinction within the Godhead, each person of the Trinity being co-equal, co-eternal, and fully God

SUMMARY: Each is FULLY GOD and FULLY DISTINCT persons

How do we know God is

Trinity?Christian Tradition

Christian Experience

Jesus Christ

The Bible

TRADITION: Virtually all Christian have affirmed the doctrine of the Trinity as central to all else THOUGH sometimes some traditions have veered away from Scripture

EXPERIENCE: Every Christian experiences the Threefoldness of the Trinity in salvation, worship, prayer, in witness, BUT sometimes we donʼt interpret experience accurately

JESUS CHRIST: Christ himself claims to be God and discloses the fullest revelation of God as we will see here in a few minutes

THE BIBLE: Scripture clearly reveals the Trinity THOUGH the word ʻTrinityʼ does not appear in the Bible.

SUMMARY: THE BIBLE itself is our primary and sure guide to the doctrine of the Trinity

God is One: ‘Ehad’

‘Ehad’ one, to be united, often a composit oneness

‘Yahid’ only, only one, solitary, 12 times in OT never used of God

‘Hear O’ Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One’ Deut 6:4

OLD TESTAMENT BIBLICAL BASIS FOR TRINITARIANISM: the OT in and of itself has not thoroughly persuaded on the Trinity

The Great Shemma: Deut 6:4, extremely important passage to the Jewish people, their CENTRAL PRAYER, “the great Shemma (command to hear)”: ʻHEAR, O Israel the Lord our God, the Lord is oneʼ. [ehad]

GOD IS ONE: The God of the OT is referred to as One God. The OT writers stressed the ʻOnenessʼ of God mainly because the patriarchs and the Nation of Israel lived amidst POLYTHEISTIC societies. Where the pagan nations had multiple Godʼs they worshipped, the Covenant people worshipped ONE , distinct, and true God.

YET the OT speaks to Godʼs plurality. Letʼs first look at the Hebrew words for ʻOneʼ. Two predominate Hebrew words for ʻONEʼ 1st. Echad “one”, root, to be united, often a composite oneness- see Gen 2:24 one in the sense of unity or union

2nd.Yahid “only, only one, solitary”, 12 times, not used of God- see Gen 22:2; jdg 11:24, Zec 12:10. The point is this, the hebrew language has a word that could more forcefully exclude plurality within God (yahid), but the OT writers never employed it of Godʼs oneness.

This scripture is THE foundational scripture for the Jewish view of ONE GOD, therefore, when Jesus proclaimed that he was God, they wanted to stone him

THE POINT: The point is this, the Hebrew language has a word that could more forcefully exclude plurality within God (yahid), but the OT writers never employed it of Godʼs oneness.

Plural terms for God- Elohim “powerful ones”

- Adonai “my lords”

God speaks as plurality

God distinct from God- Holy Spirit: Isa 40:13

- WORD of the Lord: Ps 33:6

-WISDOM of God: Pr 8

- Angel of the Lord: Ex 3:2-7

God may say “we”: Gen 1:26-27; 3:22; 11:7; Isa 6:8

ONE God as Plurality

God says “we” 1st. READ: Gen 1:26-27, could mean a plurality in majesty or royalty 2nd. Gen 3:22 “become like one of us” 3rd. Gen 11:7 “let us go down” 4th. Isa 6:8 “who will go for us?”

Plural terms for God 1st. Elohim “powerful ones” 2nd. Adonai “my lords” 3rd. Most High Ones, Makers, Creators, Husbands

God distinct from God 1st. Holy Spirit, isa 40:13; 63:10, 14 2nd. WORD of God, Ps 33:6 3rd. WISDOM of God, Prov 8 4th. The Angel of the Lord

Genesis 18

2 spoken of: Daniel 7:13-14

3 spoken of: Zecariah 12:10

Marc Chagall, ‘The three angels are received by Abraham’

Turn to in your Bibles...READ Genesis 18: 1-5, 10,13 The Lord appears as three

2 spoken of: READ Dan 7:13-14 NIV 13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

3 spoken of: READ Zac 12:10 NASB "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.

SUMMARY: The OT neither proves nor explicitly leads to a doctrine of the Holy Trinity, yet the pieces are in place for the revelation of Jesus Christ and the New Testament.

Naturally Trinitarian

“The problem of the Trinity was being raised and answered

in the New Testament. It arose because of Christian

experience, worship and thought. It was based upon the life

and ministry of Jesus, and His reception of the Holy Spirit,

and then upon His resurrection and subsequent impartation

of the Spirit to His Church.” Robert LETHAM

The writers of the NT were theologizing as they lived out their faith amidst unbelieving and curious societies

READ QUOTE “The problem of the Trinity was being raised and answered in the New Testament. It arose because of Christian experience, worship and thought. It was based upon the life and ministry of Jesus, and His reception of the Holy Spirit, and then upon His resurrection and subsequent impartation of the Spirit to His Church.” Robert LETHAM

Matthew 3:16-17‘And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from

the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and

coming to rest on Him; 17 and behold, a voice from Heaven said, “This is My beloved Son,

with Whom I am well pleased.”’

Mat 3:16 gives us a beautiful picture of the Trinity, the reality of the Trinity in Matthewʼs account of Jesusʼ baptism is a great example of the Trinity naturally flowing out of the reality of the revelation

Matthew 28:18-19

Romans 14:17, 18; 15-16

1 Corinthians 2:2-5; 6:11; 12:4-6

2 Corinthians 1:21,22

Ephesians 1:1-14; 2:18: 3:16, 17

Colossians 1:6-8

1 Thesselonians 1:3-5

1 Peter 1:2

Jude 20,21

The Trinity occurs 75 times in the NT

Several passages name the three Persons of the Trinity

SUMMARY: What is contained in the Old Testament is Explained in the NEW. The BIBLE clearly reveals the Triunity of God.

God is loveGod necessarily exists as Trinity

for God is love. For God to love

there must be a Beloved (the

Son). But for His love to be

perfect it must be a shared love

among a third (the Holy Spirit).

Relationships: Immanent of Ontological TrinityHow the Persons of the Godhead related to one another and their order

READ QUOTE God necessarily exists as Trinity. God is Love. For God to love, there must be a Beloved (the Son). But for this love to be perfect it must be a shared love among a third (the Holy Spirit). If God were a mono-personal being, he would be dependent upon Creation to express His love and would not be God, Who by definition is a Self-sufficient, Self-existing Being. [See the famous “social understanding” of the Trinity by Richard of St. Victor in the 7th Century A.D.]

The earliest theologians have explained this relationship in these terms: For all eternity, the Father has been the Father and the Son has been the Son. The Father, contemplating His own perfection in the Son overflows with love for the Son. The Son overflows with reciprocal love for the Father. This eternal procession of perfect love between the Father and Son is the Person of the Holy Spirit, forming a perfect community of self-less love. [See Saint Augustineʼs unsurpassed treatise, De Trinitas (“On the Trinity”).]

The Father loves the Son and gives him...a name, John 17:11

life itself, John 5:26

words and works, John 5:36

rule, messianic kingdom, Luke 1:31-33

all authority, Matthew 28:18

honor, glory, John 5:23

all things, John 13:3

the disciples, Jn 17:6,9,12

all believers, Hebrews 2:13

the Revelation, Revelation 1:1

THE GENEROSITY OF THE FATHER: What we clearly see is the generosity of the Father, his GIVING nature

Quote John 3:16-1716"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

The Son loves the Father

Delights in the Father,Reveals the Father,

Redeems and Reconciles us to Him,Does all the Father tells and shows,

Glorifies the Father,Gives all things back to the Father.

THE SON LOVINGLY OBEYS THE FATHER

THE SPIRIT REVEALS NOT SELF BUT FATHER AND SON

So what does knowing how God relates to himself mean to us?

The Spirit is Self-less

Likewise, the HOLY SPIRIT, rather than glorify himself, delights in and

glorifies the Son and the Father, reveals the Son and the Father to

humankind, indwells us as God in us bringing to us the presence of the

Son and the Father.

THE SPIRIT REVEALS NOT SELF BUT FATHER AND SON

So what does knowing how God relates to himself mean to us?

What does this mean in relating to God?

Knowing God as Holy Trinity

changes the way we worship. His

presence surrounds us as above

beside and within. We are invited

into the love of the Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus

Christ.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US IN HOW WE RELATE TO GOD?

Knowing God as Holy Trinity changes the way we worship.

His presence surrounds us as above beside and within.

We are invited into the love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ.

What does this mean for us personally?1) We are created in the Divine personal image. Therefore, we have basis for our human reality. Because God is Personal, we should live life to the full.

2) Yet all humanity wishes to live life to the full! We just don’t want anyone telling us how we best might do so. God’s word declares: ‘Be Holy for I am Holy’. Because God is holy, we, too, are to live holy lives.

3) But we are not always holy. We fail the Lord, each other, and ourselves. We need forgiveness. Because God is graceful and forgiving we, too, are to be characterized by grace and forgiveness.

1) We are created in the Divine personal image. Therefore, we have basis for our human reality. Because God is Personal, we should live life to the full.

2) Yet all humanity wishes to live life to the full! We just donʼt want anyone telling us how we best might do so. Godʼs word declares: ʻBe Holy for I am Holyʼ. Because God is holy, we, too, are to live holy lives.

3) But we are not always holy. We fail the Lord, each other, and ourselves. We need forgiveness. Because God is graceful and forgiving we, too, are to be characterized by grace and forgiveness. We are to ask for forgiveness when we hurt others and we are to forgive completely when wronged.

What does this mean for us personally?4) The Triune God of the Bible is not selfish but generous. The pathway to fulfilling the image of God in us is by giving to receive, releasing to posses, dying to live. Because the Holy Trinity is Self-giving, we, too, are to be generous with our lives to God, each other, and to those without Him.

5) Finally, as the Holy Trinity manifests order and equality, we, too, find greatest fulfillment as equals in an ordered society. Freedom and self-assertion are balanced with sacrifice and submission in relation to God, then to others.

4) The Triune God of the Bible is not selfish but generous. The pathway to fulfilling the image of God in us is by giving to receive, releasing to posses, dying to live. Because the Holy Trinity is Self-giving, we, too, are to be generous with our lives to God, each other, and to those without Him.

5) Finally, as the Holy Trinity manifests order and equality, we, too, find greatest fulfillment as equals in an ordered society. Freedom and self-assertion are balanced with sacrifice and submission in relation to God, then to others.

In families and marriage?Giving gifts

Honoring the other

Working with and for one another

Sending, giving responsibility to the other

Submitting to the will of the other

Abiding in unity

Being a part of each other

Trusting in the midst of Suffering

TRINITY: the greatest example and guide for our marriages and families (all relationships really!)

Modeled after the TRINITY we should strive in READ LIST

In families and marriage?

Making the other known

Communicating with each other

Enjoying communion with the other

Audible expressions of love to the other

Expressing pleasure with or desire to please the other

TRINITY: the greatest example and guide for our marriages and families (all relationships really!)

Modeled after the TRINITY we should strive in READ LIST

In families and marriage?

Making the other known

Communicating with each other

Enjoying communion with the other

Audible expressions of love to the other

Expressing pleasure with or desire to please the other

TRINITY: the greatest example and guide for our marriages and families (all relationships really!)

Modeled after the TRINITY we should strive in READ LIST