Read this chapter and you'll
find that this follows our Lord's teaching about true and false
shepherds. And He presents Himself as the
Great Shepherd of the Sheep in this passage of the Scripture.
Then He says to them in verse 30 and following, I and, and
my is in italics, not in the Greek, I and Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good
works have I showed you from my Father. For which of these
works do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying,
For a good work we stone thee not. but for blaspheming, and
because that thou, being a man, make thyself God." Isn't that
a wonderful passage? Look at verse 30 again. I and
my Father are one. I think it is beyond dispute
that some subjects in the Bible are deeper than others and are
harder for us to understand and we might be sworn to learn them,
their greater challenge, as it were, to our understanding. And if I might use a metaphor
from sailing, the realm of sailing, that in considering the subject
that we are this evening of the Trinity, we are indeed casting
our feeble vessels about upon an ocean that has neither bank
nor bottom. Great and broad is the subject
that is before us. But before settling into it in
earnest, let us acknowledge something in the beginning about the doctrine
of the Trinity. Well, other great fundamentals
of the faith as well, but particularly illustrative of the Trinity.
And that is, it is not reasonable It is not reasonable for us to
think that the doctrine of the Trinity, God three in one, could
be a doctrine that might be made up out of the depraved mind of
an individual. How could this doctrine be fashioned
from a depraved understanding? Who or what mind could ever possibly
conceive in their mind God as being one essence, one nature,
and yet three persons in that one nature. And though there
is equality and unity in the Godhead, and then conceive that
one person of this divine Godhead, or this holy three, that one
of them might become incarnate. That one of them might assume
unto themselves, unto their divine nature, a human nature even forming
what we call in theology a hypostatic union. That is the union of the
human and the divine nature in one person so that this person
is both God and man. Let me illustrate that principle
again by another doctrine, if I might. That is the doctrine
of human depravity. Consider the doctrine of depravity,
what the Bible has to say about it. What man is there, out of
his natural mind or natural thinking, would portray themselves the
way that depravity is portrayed in the Bible? Who is there that
would portray themselves worse than they are? They always like
to portray themselves as better than they are. One more will
do, I guess, to illustrate. The doctrine of salvation by
free and undeserved grace of God is not the view of salvation
that so many would espouse. When people think of salvation,
they do not think of free, unmerited grace. They think of something
they must do. of something they must give up,
of some change that they must make. In fact, the last two mentioned
are mostly rejected by the world in favor of that view that people
are essentially, basically good at heart, that they're worthy
of eternal life or that they can do something that might cause
God to grant unto them eternal life. When we consider the matter
of God's being, of His essence and of His nature, we may do
so, I think, under two headings to kind of get us our legs up
and get us on our way today. First of all, we believe that
it is the teaching of the Scripture and therefore it is the confession
of Christianity and of Christians that God is one. That there is one and only one
God. Which also was the confession
of the Old Testament people of God. You read in Deuteronomy
6, verse 4, Here, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. 1 Corinthians 8, verse 4, There
is none other but one that is God. And in verse 6, To us there
is but one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ. So the conclusion is, that to
the Christian there is only one who is God. There are not two,
there are not three, there are not more, there are not many.
We cannot therefore be so charitable as to acknowledge the literal,
actual existence of any other god or gods. We cannot say As
do some and many, one God is as good as another. It doesn't
make any difference what God you believe in or worship so
long as you are sincere. But remember, you can be sincerely
wrong. In Isaiah chapter 44 and 46,
I'm the first, I'm the last, Beside me there is no God." And
the Lord Jesus claimed in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 8, I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end. Now this God is eternal
in the sense that He had no beginning. There was never a time when He
was not. There was never a time when He began. He is uncreated. And as the Philadelphia Confession
put it, quote, his substance is in and of himself. This means that God is dependent
on none outside of himself, end quote. He's the only one. that
is in that realm or in that case. Also, He is the invisible God,
we learn in 1 Timothy 1 and verse 17. We learn that He is pure
Spirit by nature, John chapter 4 and verse 24. That His essence
is immense, fulfilling the heaven and the earth, Jeremiah 23, 24.
His knowledge is infinite, Psalm 147 and verse
5. His person and His purpose is
immutable. He is holy. He is wise. He is sovereign. And He possesses
His attributes in a unique way, some of such uniqueness that
they cannot be imparted to any other creature in heaven or in
earth. And His being is so immense and
His work so manifold that they are actually past finding out. To partially, therefore, sum
up God, God is an uncreated, eternal Spirit who Himself created
the heaven and the earth and all things therein and guides
them by His sovereign providence. That's the first thing. Now the
second thing, this eternal, uncreated God who is filled with every
divine perfection and attribute and the divine essence, this
essence exists in Trinity. This nature of God, this essence
of God, this being of God exists in Trinity. By that I mean that
it exists in three persons. John Gill, one of my favorites,
expressed it in his Body of Divinity. There is a plurality in the Godhead,
a person sharing the one divine essence. Not three gods, as some
have accused us of saying, that we are tritheists or of having
three gods. Some words from John Gill. But
these three persons sharing in the one divine nature or essence
or being. And yet so in unity and purpose
and power as that there is no division and there is no contention
in or among the person in the Godhead. So that the three divine
persons in the one nature of the Godhead are identified for
us in the Scripture as these three, the Father, the Son, or
sometimes the Word, and the Holy Spirit of God. I have a book
by Herman Bevinck, The Doctrine of God. It has a chapter in it
on the Holy Trinity, in which he writes this, quote, The Old
Testament contains the nucleus of the doctrine of the Trinity,
unquote. That is, The revelation of the
doctrine of the Trinity is not just a New Testament doctrine,
but it has its roots and beginnings also in the Old Testament. In some things as the plural
names of God. that we run across in the scripture
Elohim and the plurals we and us in regard to creation early
in the book of Genesis. Let us make man in our image. And in Isaiah chapter 6, Whom
shall I send and who will go for us? In the 8th verse of that
chapter. Then the doctrine of the Trinity
is more fully, more completely opened up for us in the teaching
of the New Testament. As it is with other doctrines
who have their roots in the Old Testament, but are more clearly
brought to light and revealed and developed by the writers
of the New Testament, that by the purposeful design of God. Now, as with every major doctrine,
that of the Trinity has had its corruptors and has had its tormentors,
and that rather early in the history of the New Testament
church. And to those eras which have
come in regard to Trinitarian truth, let us if we might consider
two that came fairly early to trouble and disturb and deceive
the church and perverted the doctrine of the Trinity early
in history. Well, there is something that
has been called Monarchianism or the same as what some people
have called Patrapacianism, those names from way back in history. And then Sabellianism also will
bring up the same thing for us and still living on today, in
what is known as oneness in our day. Oneness in our day holds
to some of these things. The oneness doctrine, as it is
called, held by some sections of Pentecostalism, who view Trinitarianism
as Tritheism, that is, the worship of three gods. And to avoid tritheism,
they contend that there is only one substance or one being in
God, and that the names Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are simply
names or manifestations of that one individual that exists in
the Godhead. That God, the one person, assumes
the role of Father, of Son and also of Holy Spirit. Which means that they deny the
persons and the personality of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Thus they are able to conclude
that in the incarnation the Father God animated a human body so
that it was actually the Father who suffered and died in that
body. on the cross. That's just some
of the error of being against or being ignorant of Trinitarianism. those who robbed Christ of His
deity. Take away His godhood, such as
the Arians did in their day, who taught that the Son was neither
God nor was He eternal, that He was a created being. Then
being a created being and being obedient to the Father, He therefore
was highly exalted as a reward for that. Here is how Robert
L. Dabney summed up the Arian view
of Christ, quote, are generated by God out of nothing,
endued with the nearest possible approximation to His own perfection,
adopted in the Sonship, clothed with a sort of deputized divinity,
and employed by God as His glorious agent in all of His works of
creation and redemption." Now that's not Robert Dabney's view. That's his portrayal of those
who are in error about the Trinity. And if I mistake not the teaching
of old areas of old, he taught that the Holy Spirit of God,
as we know it, Christianity and in the Bible, was produced by
the Son. Both of these heresies have this
effect, that they destroy, do away with the Trinity absolutely. So what is at stake in all of
this eternality and the deity of our Lord? For if they surrender
up this, Christianity is nothing but an empty shell and a desolate
house without the Holy Trinity. I stand with Edward Bickerstedt. By the way, he's written a good
book on the Trinity. Not a large book, but a good
one. an excellent writing on the Trinity, that the Scriptures,
he said, prove the co-equality of Jesus Christ with that of
the Eternal Father. And that he did by a comparison
of the power and the attribute as seen in these examples that
I will run through very quickly. Remember Malachi chapter 3 and
verse 6, I am the Lord, or Jehovah, I change not. Malachi 3 and verse
6. Then we read in Hebrews 13 and
verse 8, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. You read in Isaiah 43 and 3,
God is called Jehovah, the Holy One. And in Acts 3.14, Peter
calls the Lord the Holy One, using the exact same language
for Christ as the prophet did for God. Genesis 1.1, in the
beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. John 1.1, "...in
the beginning was the Word, and all things were made by Him."
Psalm 103.19, "...His kingdom rules over all." Acts 10.36 said,
"...He is Lord of all." Peter declared, "...Lord of all is
the Lord Jesus Christ." In Isaiah 25.8, "...He, Jehovah, will swallow
up death in victory." We read from Paul in 2 Timothy 1 and
10, Our Savior Jesus Christ who abolished death. We read in Proverbs
3.12, Whom Jehovah loves, He corrects. We read in Revelation
3.19, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." Malachi 1.6, Jehovah
is called Master and so is Christ in Matthew 23 and verse 8 and
verse 10. And one grand proof of the divinity
of our Lord is that Jesus Christ accepted the worship of men while
He were here in the earth. If He were not God, this would
be idolatry. If He were not God in the flesh,
it would be idolatry for any to cast their worship upon the
Savior. And He allowed people to pray
unto Him, neither refusing nor rebuking their action in doing
so. To pray to Him and to worship
Him. Both of these acclaimed to His
great divinity. Furthermore, we do affirm and
describe that the same Deity belongs to the Holy Spirit as
belongs to the Father and to the Son. He is called the Spirit
of God and the Spirit of Christ. And in Hebrews 9, verse 14, he
is referred to as the eternal spirit, who through the eternal
spirit offered himself without spot to God. In light of John
4, 24, where Jesus told the woman of Samaria, God is spirit, or
more literally, God is spirit. Where for one thing, as A.T.
Robertson wrote in one of his books, this is a statement of
the non-corporality of God." That is, that God has no material,
no corporal, and no physical body. That God is spirit means,
that as Owen wrote, this God is pure, spiritual, immaterial
in nature, John 4.24 speaks of the immaterial nature of which
each person in the Trinity is a partaker, so that the Lord
in John 4.24 is referring to the person of the Holy Spirit
apart from the Father and the Son. God is Spirit and each member
of the Trinity, each member of the Godhead partakes of that
spiritual nature. But it was only the Son who assumed
human nature or assumed humanity. but also in the Trinity there
is the person of the Holy Spirit. A distinct person and personality
is ascribed under this one who speaks expressly, I Timothy 4
and verse 1. The Spirit speaks expressly. He could be lied to, Acts chapter
5 and verse 3. He can bear witness to the saints,
Romans 9 and verse 1. He can be blasphemed in Matthew
chapter 21 and verse 31. and is the one who came in power
and glory on the day of Pentecost. And by the way, we do see mentions,
do we not, of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament as well,
so that it's not just a New Testament doctrine. Thus, the Holy Spirit
is a divine person. He is not simply an influence,
as some like to think of Him. We read in the Westminster Philadelphia
Confessions of Faith, in the Trinity there are three, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, of one substance, of one power, of one
eternality, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence
is not divided." that taxes our understanding. Neither one of
them is more or less God. Each possesses the same attribute,
each taking part in the divine purpose, each one being distinctly
mentioned, however, one from the other. as distinct person
and personality. Now, I'll only mention quickly
in passing that at times in the New Testament Scripture, all
three of these in the Godhead are mentioned in the same verse. For example, Matthew 28, 19,
baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit. And again in 2 Corinthians 13
and 14, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of
God and the communion of the Holy Spirit, each with a different
grace bestowed upon the elect. grace, love, and communion with
the Father, as well as such manifestation there were at the baptism of
our Lord in water in Matthew 3, 16 and 17, and in Luke chapter
3 and verse 22, when you have all three members of the Godhead at one place and
manifested at one time. The Son is there in the flesh. The Spirit is descending in the
form or likeness of a dove, says Matthew. And Luke writes, and
the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon
Him. And the Father spake out of heaven
in an audible voice. And in such texts as these, and
distinctions are made, and the three persons in the Godhead
are identified, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And as we say,
it's important that we remember that sometimes at the same time
and place. Now these sorts of sayings and
these scriptures squeeze the anti- Trinitarians, and such
as Herman Hoeksema referred to as nominal Trinitarians. So they are forced, therefore,
to make some defense. They are forced to defend their
denial of the literal and the personal subsistence of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit by saying that the Son and the Spirit are
simply two powers or two influences that emanate. That is, they come
from a source which they identify as God, and in that way try to
defend being anti-Trinitarian. But the truth is, as Bickerstaff
wrote, these distinctions reveal unto us the simultaneousness
of the operation of the three infinite persons in the divine
nature. Now as to the person and deity
of the Holy Spirit, we notice that the Holy Spirit is referred
to both as a person and in masculine gender in the Scripture. It is
He, Him. And under Him is described all
manner of action and purpose and such like. For example, he
indwells, he leads, he teaches, he intercedes. We read of his
mind and we read of his will. Abraham Kuyper noted in his book,
The Work of the Holy Spirit, that in every work which is affected
by and attributed to the whole Godhead in common, each member
is ascribed a part. As for example, in creation,
both the Son, Colossians 1, 16 and 17, John 1, 3, Hebrews 1,
1 through 3, and the Spirit, Genesis 1, 1 through 3, are said to have a part in creation,
both the Son and the Spirit. So the incarnation. The Father
decreed, the Spirit conceived the humanity of the Son in the
womb of the Virgin, and the Son assumed that humanity. So the question is, if the Spirit
is less than fully God, what will be the effect of this? upon the person of Christ. How could a mere influence affect
the mighty works that are ascribed unto the Holy Spirit? He must
be God, and He is God. He is divine. He possesses deity. Such as regeneration. The same
Spirit that did conceive the humanity of Christ in the womb
of the Virgin Mary is the same One who quickens those dead in
their trespasses and in their sin. Now can any or anything
but a divine power accomplish that? Thus the New Testament
more frequently and more clearly develops for us the Trinitarian
truth of the Godhead. Now I'd like to quote one author
who said in the New Testament revelation, The fact that the
Lord of the Covenant is triune becomes very clear now. Salvation rests upon this threefold
principle, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father chose a people
before the world. He foreordained them to the adoption
of children. He gave them unto Christ in the
decree of election. Gave them to Christ both by way
of charge and by way of reward. You see that in Ephesians 1,
3 through 5. The Son became incarnate. He died to redeem them, bearing
their sins and making satisfaction to the justice of God. The Holy
Spirit brings the first two to fruition, regenerating the ones
that God chose and the ones that Christ hath redeemed. Not only
regenerating, but also being both the seal and the earnest
of their inheritance and indwelling them as a temple, bearing witness
with their spirit that they are indeed the children of God. Now, it might not be too far-fetched
to say that often the Holy Spirit is shorted in His due, in His
honor, and in His glory in the preaching and the study of the
word and works of our God. But not only is he our teacher,
he appoints ministers over the flock to teach us. Acts 20, 28. He is said to the church at Antioch
in chapter 13, verse 2 of Acts, separate unto me Barnabas and
Saul. It was the Spirit of God that
did that, that put that in their heart and spake unto them. He
forbade Paul and Timothy to preach the gospel in Asia, Acts 16 and
verse 6. And in 1 Timothy 4 and 1, I think
we mentioned already, the Spirit speaketh expressly, that is,
explicitly concerning later time and apostasy. But returning now
to the one idea of the Trinity. sometime called the three-in-one. And the hymn writer speaks of
God the three-in-one, God in three persons, blessed Trinity,
we sing and we study. The holy three. I love that description
of regarding God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
And yet, in holding unto the Trinity, We do not in any wise
want that to come across as holding to three gods, but one God in
Trinity, one God in Unity, one in Essence, three persons. each of them being God, each
of them being eternal and uncreated, yet there is one divine essence
or nature, though there be three persons. And the proper distinction
are three. When distinctions are made or
need to be made, the Father, who is God, the Son, who is also
God, and the Spirit who is also God and eternal. When we speak of their unity
or that each one is God and each a partaker of the divine nature
and of the divine essence, it is not to be inferred that they
are one and the same person, nor that personal distinctions
in the Godhead are eradicated or abolished. all three persons
are co-equal and are co-eternal, and all three are equally divine,
possessing deity. A. A. Hodge wrote on his exposition
of the Westminster Confession these words, quote, ìThe indivisible
divine essence and all divine perfection and prerogative belong
to each one in the same sense and degree." Concerning the Trinity,
we ought to confess, as some great thinkers and expositors
have done over the years, that the subject of the Trinity is
a matter of divine revelation. that it can only be known, only
be believed by divine revelation. And even then, how limited is
our understanding and how long does it take for it to dawn upon
us the exact truth of the Trinity so that we come to somewhat understand
it. We have a working knowledge of
it, as we might call it. So we believe that what we cannot
fully understand is true anyway. even though we do not fully understand
it, even though it is beyond our comprehension, still we can
say salvation is trinal, so that none can know God in a saving
way apart from His trinality. None can savingly have a knowledge
of God apart from the knowledge of trinality. Still, It is past
our finding out. And sometime we can understand
it and believe it when we can't explain it. So deep and mysterious
is this wonderful truth of the Word of God. And in conclusion,
I say, it's said in the Philadelphia Confession, quote, the doctrine
of the Trinity is the foundation of all of our communion with
God, unquote. Think about that, apart from
the Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. For
He is revealed to us as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit, as
the truth of the Trinity is seen in the bestowal of grace upon
the elect of God. He that has been saved will think
in relation unto the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
in this fashion, that the Father sent the Son into the world,
the only begotten Son who loved us and who gave Himself for us
and died for our sin. And the Spirit of God has come
at His appointed time and in His sovereignty, and has quickened
us, called us, and converted us unto the ways of God. God the Son gave to God the Father
a sufficient sacrifice for the elect in order that God the Spirit
might apply this so great salvation to those that are chosen in Christ
before the world and redeemed by His death upon the cross. Thank God for this doctrine and
even when it limits our understanding we yet believe it and thank God
for it.