Once again, good morning. We just sang this song. Glory,
glory to the Father. Glory, glory to the Son. Glory, glory to the Spirit. Glory
to the three in one. Would you turn in your Bibles
to Genesis chapter one, please. What do we know about the biblical
doctrine of the Trinity? Do we have a comfortable, crisp
understanding of that teaching? The teaching of the Trinity as
it is set forth in God's Word? Could it be safe to assume that
most people who profess to believe the doctrine of the Trinity might
be hard pressed to show from scriptures why they believe it.
We worship one God in the Trinity, or the triunity as it is, of
his sacred persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we adore
each as the God of all grace by whom we are saved. It must be acknowledged that
that is an utter impossibility for sinful mortals to understand,
much less to explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity. No mortal
can comprehend the being of an infinite God. His thoughts are
not our ways. Our thoughts are not His. How
can we comprehend He who knows everything? He who created even
our own knowledge? Critics, skeptics, and infidels
arrogantly boast that they will not believe anything that they
cannot understand or explain. But even their boasts are not
true. They would not think of denying,
for instance, that the sun shines, but how many can actually explain
why? You see, the fact is, folks,
we live in a world where there are a lot of things that can't
be explained, huh? Who can explain how the brain
works? Our doctors, by the way, and
thank God for them. I thank my Lord so much for the
fact that they have come up with a way that they may be able to
remove these tumors in Don Fortner's lungs. What a blessing it is. Five, ten years ago, they would
have had to break his chest open and gone through and cut him
out that way. With a pacemaker, he just wouldn't
have survived that. But here it is today. Maybe the Lord's
not done with Don Fortner yet. Maybe He is to continue on bringing
God's Word before the people, huh? I pray that that is so. We live in a world that is full
of things that we cannot explain. And we never question them. The
brain just thinks. I don't know how it does, but
it just does. Well, at least yours does. Mine probably doesn't
do it very much, and it usually takes a rest in between each
time it does. I don't understand how a brown
cow can eat green grass and give white milk and makes yellow butter. But I love to eat and drink milk,
eat butter and drink milk. Don't you? Nothing is more confusing to
a scientist than the complexity of humanity. Neither the biologist
nor the physiologist can grasp the mystery of what a man is.
They tell us in their folly that we are the highest form of animal
life, yet they cannot find an animal anywhere like a man. Now I don't care what you say,
monkeys are not like men. Neither are dolphins. Why? It's because man is not
an animal. He's the only creature in the
universe made in the image of God. That's what scripture tells
us. That makes humanity an unfathomable
mystery also, doesn't it? The Word of God speaks of a man
as a trichotomy, a being of three parts, and unlike animals around
us, we are all material, rational, and spiritual beings. Each of
us possess a material body, a rational mind, and an immaterial, or in
other words, a spiritual soul. Now I know man has been trying
to prove that animals are rational, but I'm not here to argue with
the things of the world. I declare the truth according
to God's word. Anything else is for them to
argue about. We are in one sense a unity,
in other words a personality, yet in another sense we are a
plurality also, a triunity or a trinity. How do we put all
of that together in one person? I cannot answer that question,
but I know it's so. No one will ever be able to adequately
explain the complex mystery of humanity, and all we can do is
watch and observe. And if this is true, with regard
to humanity, how much more so is it true when we think about
the infinite God? We cannot understand or even
explain the works of God, can we? How can you explain that
a man's hand would turn and become whole just in front of the eyes
of people? Our Lord Jesus did that. And
many people saw it. How can you explain that? How
can you explain a one who has never seen the color blue, all
of a sudden they have sight and they can see around them? Or
a man who has been lame from the time he was born? Get up! Not just get up and walk feebly,
but get up! That's the grace and the love
of God! That's the power that our Lord
Jesus has! We cannot even understand, let
alone explain the works of God. We certainly can't understand
His being, I do not try to explain the Trinity.
I cannot explain what I do not understand. And someone once
said this, he says that a man is a fool who denies the doctrine
of the Trinity. But he's even equally a fool
who tries to explain it. My only object in this message
is to show that the Word of God teaches this doctrine and that
it is a doctrine full of grace. The title for this message this
morning is These three are one. In Isaiah 58, it says, For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
saith the Lord. Scriptures clearly and unmistakably
teach the doctrine of the Trinity. This is not a matter of guesswork.
It is not a point of theological speculation or conjuncture. Look
at the front of today's bulletin, will you? 1 John 5, verses 7-8, what does
it tell us here? For there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, the Holy Ghost, and
these three are one. That's God Almighty Himself telling
you and I right there. These three are one. There is
only one God. We worship one God. God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Three distinct different
persons, one God. And there are three that bear
witness in the earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood.
And these three agree in one. Certainly not this is the only
place where the doctrine is taught. Throughout Scriptures, God reveals
Himself as a triune being. One in three, and three in one,
and all are equal in all things, and co-eternal. Christ has always
been Christ Jesus the Lord. In the 17th chapter of John,
He says, Father, return to Me the glory that I once had with
you. Meaning that He has always been with the Father. He wasn't
always in the flesh. He wasn't always made of a woman. But He has always been Christ
the Lord. When we say we believe in the
Trinity of the divine persons, we do not mean that there are
three equal but separate gods. We do not mean that there is
one God manifest in three different personalities. We mean that we
worship one God in three divine persons. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
the Divine Trinity is the union of these three persons in one
Godhead, so that all three are one God as to substance, but
three persons as to individuality in the nature of one God. A man by the name of H. Strong wrote this. He said, there
are three eternal distinctions which are represented to us under
the figure of three persons, and these three are equal. Is
this not the doctrine of the Bible? Is that not what the Bible
teaches us? That is the only thing that matters,
isn't it? What the Bible is telling us?
Search the Scriptures and see for yourself that the Word of
God clearly teaches this doctrine of the Triune God. The Trinity
is a doctrine that is found in the Old Testament as well as
the New. In the self-disclosure or self-revelation, as it were,
of God in the Old Testament, the Lord our God is always represented
as one God. But always as one God with plural
persons. Plural within the Godhead. Are you with me in Genesis 1?
Look at verses 1 and 2. In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and
void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit
of God moved upon the face of the waters. God the Father didn't
move on the waters. God the Son didn't move on the
waters. God the Spirit moved on the waters. Does that not
tell us right there? Look over at verse 26 of the
same chapter, shall we? And God said, let us make man
in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over
the fish, and 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. The Old Testament Scriptures
constantly point us to the three persons of the Godhead. We are
often confronted with God the Father, the Spirit of the Lord,
and many pre-incarnate appearances of Christ as the angel of the
Lord. One of the most common Hebrew words used for God is
the word El, E-L. You find it in a thousand combinations
in the Old Testament. The plural form of that word
is Elohim. This is the word used in Genesis
1-1. W.A. Criswell has a powerful
demonstration in a significant way of these words and how they
are used. He says, in the first chapter
of Genesis alone, that word, L-O-M, plural, is used 32 times,
just in Genesis alone. In the books of Moses, the five
books of Moses, L-O-M is used more than 500 times. In the Old Testament, L-O-M is
used more than 5,000 times. In all 32 times in the first
chapter of Genesis, in all the more than 500 times in the writings
of Moses, and in all the more than 5,000 times of the Old Testament
itself, without exception, L-O-M is used with a singular verb. I pause because I want that to
sink in. Three in one. Three distinct
persons, yet one God. The implication of that fact
is obvious. That the Lord our God, the Triune God, is one God,
and this Triune God is the one true and living God. There is
no other God. Turn to Matthew chapter 1 if
you would please. So we've seen where the Old Testament. What about the New? The New Testament
clearly and emphatically declares the doctrine of the Trinity also.
In fact, no effort is even made in the Word of God to prove the
doctrine. It is simply stated as a matter of fact. A fact that is commonly received
and believed by all who were numbered among the saints. As
we can see here in Matthew 1, it presents itself almost in
a casual way. Read verses 20 and 23 if you
would with me on Matthew chapter 1. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him. Remember, Christ had not been
born yet. The Lord Jesus Christ had not
become flesh. How often we have seen the angel
of the Lord, the messenger of the Lord. He appeared unto Joseph in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto
thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is
of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it
might be fulfilled which is spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth
a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted
is God with us. The New Testament declares that
God the Father is God in Romans 1-7. We read, To all that be
in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, grace to you and
peace from God our Father. God the Son is God, it declares
in Hebrews 1.8 where it says, But unto the Son he saith, Thy
throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of thy kingdom. And God the Holy Spirit is declared
to be God in Acts 5 verses 3 and 4 where it says, But Peter said,
Ananias, Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy
Ghost and to keep back part of the price of the land while it
is remained? Was it not thine own? And after
it was sold, was it not thine own power? Why hast thou conceived
this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men,
but unto God. When He lied, He didn't just
lie to men, He lied to God the Spirit. Yet the Lord our God is one Lord.
The doctrine of the Trinity runs through all the New Testament.
In Jude 20, verses 20 and 21, we read, But ye, beloved, building
up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. In one statement, all three
are used as one God. Yet three different persons. And these are just to mention
a few examples. There are many, many, many more. that we could turn to and see
the declaration of our great triune God. Without question,
the teachings, the doctrine of the Trinity is a Bible truth.
Someone accurately stated once that the Father is all the fullness
of the Godhead invisible, the Son is all the fullness of the
Godhead manifested, and the Spirit is all the fullness of God acting
immediately upon the creature. I would fail to produce a single
argument drawn from nature or logic to prove the doctrine of
the Trinity. It is a mystery filled with such
greatness that it defies understanding by my small mind. But our faith does not stand
upon nature or logic, does it? That's the way of men. I got this all figured out here.
I'll let it go. We do not stand on what we see
in nature or logic. Our faith stands on what? The Word of God. All Christians believe in the
doctrine of the Trinity. Why? Because it's revealed in
Holy Scripture. Our Lord reveals Himself in Holy
Scripture by being three distinct persons, yet one God. And I believe
what the Lord has revealed in His Word. Turn now, if you would,
over to Ephesians chapter 1. All three persons in the Godhead
are equally gracious. This is one of the many great
Gospel truths the Holy Spirit shows us in the first chapter
of Ephesians. As the three persons of the eternal
Godhead are equal in divinity, but distinct in personality,
so all three of the divine persons are equal in grace, but distinct
in their operations of grace. Are you with me in Ephesians?
Look at chapter 1, verse 3 through 6. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as He hath
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him, in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according
to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of
His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. It was God the Father who in
the covenant of grace proposed redemption, devised the plan,
and chose the people whom He would save by His almighty grace. He found a way whereby His banished
ones could be brought back to Him and never expelled from His
presence throughout eternity. Then, in the fullness of time,
He sent His Son to be the medium or the mediator of grace to His
chosen. In Galatians 4, verse 4-6, you
don't need to turn there, but when the fullness of time was
come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the
law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God
hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father. God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ
is the channel of that grace. God the Father is the creator
of it, the one who purposed it. But it couldn't be brought to
us through our own works. Our holy God cannot even look
upon the sin that we are. There has to be a mediator between
us and God the Father, and that's what God the Son has done. Look at verses 7-12. In whom? In the Lord Jesus Christ. In
our Savior. In whom? we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace, wherein He hath abounded to usward in all wisdom
and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will
according to His good pleasure, which He hath purposed in Himself,
that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven
and which are on earth, even in Him, in whom also we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the
purpose of Him, who worketh all things after the counsel of His
own will, that we should be to the praise of His glory, who
first trusted in Christ. All grace comes to sinners through
Christ the mediator. In this chapter, Paul tells us
14 times that everything God requires of sinners, He does
for sinners. And gives to sinners in Christ. Apart from Christ, there is no
grace. God will not deal with man, but Christ. Man cannot deal
with God, but by Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
mediator between the people of God and God the Father. Christ
is the revelation of God, the incarnation of God, and the only
way to God. Pastor Fortner wrote this, he
said, are we chosen of God? It clearly says so in Scripture,
doesn't it? We are chosen in Christ. Are we blessed of God? We are blessed in Christ. Are
we predestinated by God? We are predestinated to be conformed
to the image of Christ. Are we adopted as the children
of God? We are adopted in Christ. Are we accepted of God? We are
accepted in Christ. Are we redeemed by God? We are
redeemed in Christ. Are we forgiven by God? We are
forgiven in Christ. Are we justified before God?
If so, then we are justified by Christ, by what He has done. The offering of His blood has
paid our sin debt. There is now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. Are we sanctified, set apart,
made holy? Then we are made holy in Christ. Do we know God? Then we know
Him. in Christ. If you have seen Me, our Lord
says, you have seen the Father. Do we have an inheritance? That
inheritance is in Christ. Are we called of God? We are
called in Christ. Do you see what I'm saying, folks?
Do you see this? It's all because of Him and it's
all through Him. There's nothing for you and I
to add to this or take away from it. It's perfectly done in Christ
and Christ alone. This is what makes the Godhead,
the triunity of God so wonderful to His people. Are you a child
of God? Does the triune God bring peace
and joy to your heart? All grace comes to chosen sinners
through Christ and there is no other way to the grace of God
that can reach a sinner. Let no rejecter of God's Son
imagine that he shall be a beneficiary of God's grace. It is the work
of Christ upon the cross which has brought grace and justice
together in the salvation of sinners. It is through His blood
and only through His blood of the cross where mercy and truth
are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. You can read that in Psalms 85.10. The fountain of all grace is
God the Father, the medium of all grace is God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit is the administrator of all grace. Verses 13 and 14 of Ephesians
1. In whom, in Christ, in whom ye
also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel
of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, you were
sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. The Holy Ghost. We are kept by the power of God
through the Holy Spirit. And if God the Holy Spirit is
keeping us, can we ever fall? No! I know it looks like it when
we look in the mirror at ourselves, but our Savior is the one who
our Father looks at and sees His blood. Our chair in heaven will be filled. Every chair in heaven shall be
filled. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. And if that's not true, then
He's not God, is He? Sealed with that Holy Spirit
of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of His glory. It is God the Spirit who effectually
applies the blood of Christ to the chosen, redeemed sinners.
He regenerates the dead by omnipotent power. That means all power. He calls the redeemed with an
irresistible grace. He makes us willing in the day
of His power. We come to our Lord willingly. But when one has been brought
to know what they are, destitute, broke, with nothing to offer
God, and has been shown the grace and the love that the Lord Jesus
Christ has for His people, so much so that He gave His only
blood for them. To see that, you must have a
new heart. And with a new heart, we come
willingly. to our Father through His Son by the Holy Spirit. He calls the redeemed with irresistible
grace. He gives faith to the chosen
by Almighty operations of grace and He seals, He keeps, He guarantees
God's elect unto everlasting glory. Redemption was effectual. It
was effectually accomplished for God's elect by Christ at
Calvary. It is effectually applied to
all the redeemed by God, the Holy Spirit, in the effectual
calling. In Hebrews 9 verses 12-14, neither
by blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood. By His own blood, the blood of
Jesus Christ, He entered once into the holy place, having obtained
eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and
goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkled with the unclean sanctifyeth,
or purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without
spot to God, how much more shall it purge your conscience from
dead works, from self-will to serve the living God. Without the sovereign, gracious
operations of God the Holy Spirit and conversion, no sinner would
ever become the beneficiary of grace. Mankind stand before mankind,
sinners stand before sinners, and declare the Word of God.
But oh, how many have heard that declaration have turned a deaf
ear because the Holy Spirit has not done a work in their hearts.
You are not My sheep, our Lord says. My sheep hear My voice. Without the sovereign gracious
operations of God the Holy Spirit, for He takes the things of Christ
and He shows them to His people. A man by the name of C.D. Cole
wrote this, he says, he quickens those that the Father chose. He reclaims those that the Son
redeemed, speaking of the Spirit. And he leads to the Good Shepherd,
every one of the lost sheep for whom the Good Shepherd laid down
his life. He conquers the stoutest hearts And He cleanses the foulest
spiritual leper. And He opens the sin-blinded
eyes and He unstops the sin-closed ears. Does that fit any of you? Can you sit there this morning
and say, that's me. The blessed Holy Spirit reveals
the grace of the Father and He applies the grace of the Son.
All three persons in the Godhead are equally gracious, and all
three must be equally praised. In fact, whenever the three persons
of the Holy Trinity are presented together in the Scriptures, it
is always in connection with redemption, grace, and salvation. Mark the word here, if you look
through Scripture and you're looking at just the One, just
the Holy Spirit all by Himself, most likely it's condemnation
and judgment. Same thing with Christ. What
did Christ point out to those when He walked this earth? Condemnation. Salvation is through
His blood. It is always in connection with
redemption, grace, and salvation. Praise God from whom all blessings
flow. Praise Him, all creatures here
below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost. Allow me to read one more article
from Don Fortner. And I'll bring this to a close.
Fortner writes that no doctrine in the Bible more forcibly inspires
unity among true believers than the doctrine of the Trinity.
This is not some abstract point of theological speculation or
maybe some profitless point of doctrinal refinement. This is
a subject so far above our comprehension that it should inspire our deepest
reverence and humility, as well as the most circumspect consecration
of unity. In our baptism, You and I have
publicly avowed our consecration to our God. Being baptized in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
we publicly declare, and that's what baptism is. That's for another
message, I'll save it for another day. It's nothing more than a
public declaration, this is my God, the triune God. God the
Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. We declared our consecration
and commitment to obey the will of the Father, to live for the
glory of the Son, and to submit to the leadership of the Holy
Spirit. Let every thought about the Holy Trinity stimulate in
us a desire that we may be one, even as God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one. All true believers should
earnestly devote themselves as the sons and daughters of the
Triune God to unity. What brings us all together? The One Triune God. What makes us different from
all the other religions out there? The One Triune God. He makes everybody to differ,
doesn't He? seeking the glory of God in one
labor, serving the cause of Christ and one in love with Christ.
As the children of God in this world, for Christ's sake and
for his glory, believers must learn by the grace of God to
be patient with one another, to highly esteem one another,
to forgive one another, to forbear one another, and to give difference
to one another. For someday, someday very soon,
maybe sooner than all of us know, someday we shall be in one glory. Should we not all come together
as one? If there be therefore any consolation
in Christ, if any comfort of love. You know what? Turn over
to Philippians chapter 2. Would you? Read this with me. Don't just hear my words. Allow God. May God make allowance
in your heart for you to hear these words. If there be therefore,
verse 1, any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any
fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill
ye my joy that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of
one accord and of one mind, Let nothing be done through strive
for vain glory, but in lowliness of mind. Let each esteem the
other better than themselves. Look not every man unto his own
things, but every man also unto the things of others. Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ, who being in the form
of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Wherefore God has also highly
exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven. and things on the earth, and
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to
the glory of God the Father. Be of one mind. One mind that Jesus Christ is
Lord. All the fullness of the Godhead
dwelleth in Him bodily. When you see the true and living
God, portrayed and revealed in his scripture, in his word. In the beginning was God, in
the beginning was the word, and the word was God and with God. When you see the Son, you have
seen the Father, and it is because the Holy Spirit has revealed
it to you.