30th May, 2010
Written By Rev. Law Hui Seng
Posted By Teresa Han
John 1:1; Colossians 2:9; John 14:16; 16: 8, 12-16; 1Corinthians 12: 4-6.
Main Idea: The Trinitarian God is really one God.
Objectives: a. To help you to appreciate the Trinitarian God and build a strong personal relationship with Him. b. To help you to clear your confusion about the Trinitarian God.
A. Introduction.
- The word ‘Trinity’ is not in the Bible. It is a theological term not a biblical term. By theological we mean that it is a term which best expresses what we believe the bible teaches. By not biblical we mean that the word itself is never used in Scripture. But it is definitely pure biblical teaching!
- The gist of the Trinity teaching is like this: one God in 3 persons: Father, Son, Spirit. God is one in his essential being but in this being there are 3 persons. Though they are 3 persons they do not compete with each other. God reveal him self to human beings like us in 3 forms.
- The 3 persons are distinctly clear in the one true God. The Father is 100% God, the Son is 100% God and the Spirit is 100% God.
- The Apostles’ Creed was one of the earliest creeds and shows the belief in the Father, Son and Spirit. You still remember, “I believe in God the Father almighty, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, …”
- A word of caution: do not allow Muslims or Cultists to accuse you of believing in 3 gods. This is their simplistic way of making you feel stupid or confused.
B. To understand the Trinity we begin with Jesus (John 1:1)
- John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God.”
- Was he a person? Yes. He was a man. 1Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” He had personality: He had feelings. Matthew 14:14 “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” He had a mind. Philippians 2:5 “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”
- Was he God? Yes. He existed from the beginning (John 1:1). He was creator. John 1:3 “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. He was fully God (John 1:1).
- He was worshipped Matthew 2:2 “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” He forgave sins. Matthew 9:2 “Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
C. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead.
- The Holy Spirit is a person. Jesus described the Holy Spirit as another paraclete. John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever”
- A paraclete (Greek, parakletos) is one who comes alongside. When Jesus called the Holy Spirit ‘another’ paraclete, it means the Holy Spirit is a person just as much as Jesus is a person.
- Take note the Holy Spirit is never an ‘it’ but a ‘he’. John 16:8, 12-14 “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment…I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”
- Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words that cannot express.”
- The Holy Spirit has personality. Acts 5:32 “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
- The Holy Spirit has feelings. Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
- The Holy Spirit has a will. Acts 16: 6-7 “Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.”
- The Holy Spirit is God. He is creator. Genesis 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
- He is called God. 1Corinthians 12: 4-6 “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”
- For today, we can see distinctly the Trinitarian godhead. I pray that you will see that the Trinitarian Godhead is real to you. It is not something for your knowledge and information only. I pray that as you are clear of the Godhead in 3 persons, the next time I preach to you the second part, you will find Trinity is very practical, it is in your life.
D. Conclusion.
- You see why it has to be Trinity? He can get personal with you and He is real to you.
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