All right, our subject again
is the Trinity in salvation. And we'll look at that rather
extensively, God willing. We have that text in Ephesians
2, for by grace Are you saved? But then look at 1 Peter 1, verses
1 through 5, and we find here what we are looking for. Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ to the strangers, sojourners literally,
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you,
and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that
fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time. Look again at the second verse.
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification
of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ. Now I tell you now and up front
that today we intend to consider the great salvation of grace
from the standpoint of the Holy Trinity. Or to be more specific,
we will be looking at the part that each one of them take in
our salvation. that each member of the Godhead
works out toward our salvation and the reconciling of sinners
again unto God and preserving them unto coming and eternal
glory. But first, there is a matter
to mention that I think is apropos to a study like this and which
is closely related to our subject of the morning. This subject
is well documented in an old book written by Thomas Boston
that human nature is actually capable and does exist in a four-fold
state or condition, if you will. Yea, in fact, everyone who will
see God, everyone that will be saved and brought unto eternal
happiness will pass through the last three of these states or
condition by the work and the will and the way of God. So quickly, let's look at the
four conditions that men are able to exist in our human nature. First of all, I mentioned the
original state of humanity or of human nature as it was at
first created by God, and it for a time did exist in our first
parents, Adam and Eve. What Thomas Boston called, and
I quote, the original pair, the root of mankind, the compendized
world, and the fountains from which all generations have streamed,
unquote. John Brown once wrote, The Holy
Scriptures assert the perfection of human nature in its original
state, unquote. Man, human man and woman, made
in some degree in the image of God, Genesis 1 and verse 27. And God made man upright at the
beginning, Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and verse 29. God made man
upright. And there are two facts that
are connected to this original state of humanity or of human
nature. A, we want to point out that
of all the people in the world, only two people have ever existed
or experienced this condition of the multitude that have marched
across the stage of human history, generation after generation,
one following closely upon another, yet still only two have ever
lived in a blessed state of innocence on the earth, free of sin, only
Adam and his wife Eve. Since they produced no offspring
while they were still upright, and unfallen, none else ever
lived in the paradise of God or in that original state of
mankind. But then B, we have to say, our
first parents sinned, they fell, and they were driven out of the
garden. Human nature corrupted itself
in the first pair, And in the fountain, and since then, all
are born in sin and shapen in iniquity. None are born innocent
or pure or free of depravity, and death reigns through sin
over the entire human family. That brings us to the second
state or condition of humanity, and this one is the most prevalent
state, and it is the door through which we all enter into the human
condition, into the human family, or into the world. Secondly,
that is the state of depravity. Some call it nature, which is
entered in at and by birth. When sin then has dominion over
us and over our life, we abide unless God rescues us in spiritual
death, and we walk after the desire of our depraved longings
and the inclination of our heart, and this condition is both incurable
and fatal unless a merciful God provide and apply a remedy. Then thirdly, there is the third
possible condition into which human nature can exist, and this
is what most refer to as a state of grace. When some are restored
to fellowship with God and are reconciled again unto Him, they
are given salvation and eternal life. They are called by the
work of God into fellowship with His Son, the true and the living
God, and they live the Christian life saved from sin, though it
still dwells in them to some degree. In the experience of
the elect, this state is commenced with regeneration and followed
by conversion. And in this state we continue
the rest of our life or the rest of our existence in the world. Then, fourthly, of course, there
is the coming and eternal state which they will experience. And
it will either be one of happiness or one of misery. Now, all of these are well documented
in the Scripture, being clearly seen by those who have eyes to
see and who have ears to hear. Now in summation, not only is
human nature capable of existing in four states, but it is capable
of passing from one condition or one state unto another. Once it was upright and without
sin. It corrupted then and fell into
spiritual debt. But God is able to raise it up
out of spiritual debt and bestow eternal life. And then it live
under the influence of the Spirit of God, our text said, sanctified
by the Spirit of God. And our premise today is this,
that the saving of the elect and the restoring of them to
fellowship with God and preparing them for that coming glory there
is a distinct and definite part of this work that is ascribed
unto each of the three members of the Godhead. And that is that
each of the holy three take a part, have a part, do a work in our
so great salvation. Each of the three having their
part and working in perfect harmony to fulfill the will of God and
finish the work with its consummation. Now, in order to demonstrate
that this is true, I deliberately chose that passage here in 1
Peter chapter 1 and the five verses that we read, because
here we see that all three members of the Godhead are mentioned
as having done a distinct thing. First of all, we notice the three
are distinguished in this verse. There are three persons that
are distinguishable and are distinguished. Number one, there is God the
Father. Number two, there is the Spirit. That would be the Holy Spirit
of God. And number three, there is Jesus
Christ. God the Father and the Spirit
and Jesus Christ. And notice then something else
in the verse, that election is ascribed unto Father God. according to the foreknowledge
of God. Secondly, sanctification, setting
apart, is the work of the Spirit. And thirdly, the bloodshedding,
or the bloodletting, is the part of the Son, Jesus Christ, our
blessed Lord. We read in 1 John 5 and verse
7, at least in the King James Version, for there are three
that bear record in heaven, the Father and the Word and the Holy
Ghost, and these three are one. Now understand that there are
some expositors who question whether or not these words were
in some of the older texts, but we're not bound to prove our
case in that one verse. But consider, if you will, the
last part of verses like Colossians chapter 2 and verse 2, where
a very common thing in the New Testament occurs, where at least
two of the members of the Godhead are mentioned together and in
the same verse. Almost always it is the Father
and the Son or the Son and the Father mentioned in the same
stroke of a divine and inspired pen. And the same thing being
distinguished as to their person. The Father God and His Son the
Lord Jesus Christ. The knowledge, Colossians 2.2,
the knowledge of the mystery of God and of the Father and
of Christ. And again, I tell you, this is
the reading of the King James Version. Some versions have it
this way. the mystery of God, the Father
of Christ. And Paul goes on to say in verse
3, that in this Christ, Colossians 2 and 3, in this Christ are hid
all of the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge, that they are
stored up as it were, He is that case in which God's jewels are
kept. And they are revealed in, through,
and by Him, that is, by the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thomas Goodwin a Puritan, was
one expositor who understood Paul, however, in Colossians
2.2, to be speaking of God and to have reference to the entire
Godhead, which is common to all three persons who share equally
in the divine essence or divine nature, and the Father as the
first person. distinct from the Son and also
from the Spirit. For this is a distinction that
is often, that is many times, that is over and over made in
the Scripture. The distinction between God the
Father and the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, 1
John 4 and verse 14. The Father sent the Son to be
the Savior of the world. Jesus often speaks in the Scripture
of My Father, and He's referring, of course, to the God of Heaven. And God the Father often speaks. of the Lord Jesus Christ as my
beloved Son. He does that in the New Testament,
my beloved Son. And the epistles echo the same
thing, speaking of God the Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
or the Son of God. Thus, in pursuing this course
we've laid out this morning, the work of the Holy Three in
the salvation of the elect, it might not be an unnecessary deviation
to say a few things about the holy or divine Trinity. Then follow that with a consideration
of the particular part that each takes in the saving of God's
elect. Trinity. Some say, well, you
won't find the word Trinity in the Scripture. Trinity is from
the Latin trinitus and the meaning is threeness. Threeness is the
meaning trinity. The trinity is an almost incomprehensible
mystery concerning the being, the nature, and the essence of
the three persons in the one divine nature. The such divine
nature or divine essence is one, while the persons who equally
share that divine nature and essence are three. Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit is how they are identified. In Matthew chapter
28 and verse 19, Jesus said, or rather the Scripture said,
that baptism was to be administered in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, or the Holy Spirit of God. If there is a son, then there
is a father. And if there is a father, then
there is a son, vice versa, because these two are related, father
and son, and one intimates the other. When we think of God in
the relation of Father, we must not limit Him only to being the
Heavenly Father of the children of God. Now that's a blessed
and a wonderful truth, how glad we are to be called the children
of God. But Scripture also declares Him
to be the Father of the Son, that is, of the Lord Jesus Christ. You find this in a few places. One of them is Romans 15 and
verse 6, God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Think of that, that distinction,
God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He does it again, Paul,
in Ephesians 1 and verse 3, 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 3, 2 Corinthians
11 and 31, just to name a few places where that distinction
is held out in the Scripture. Then consider how many times
again the Lord Jesus Christ spoke those words My Father, the reference
being to God the Father, His Father in heaven. There is a
helpful note. on the Trinity in the New Geneva
Study Bible. If you happen to have one of
those, it's found in the 44th chapter of Isaiah, and it's on
page 1102. And it makes three points there
in summing up the essence of the Trinitarian doctrine of the
Scripture. Point number one, there is but
one God. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God is one, Moses said to the people, thinking Deuteronomy.
Chapter 6, there is but one God. Secondly, that Father and Son
and Spirit are each one equally God and equally divine. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
are equally divine as to their nature. And thirdly, that the
same three Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct persons. There is one God, there are three
persons in the nature or essence, and they are Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. And the note there in that Bible
says this, and I quote, each of the three having the full
divine essence of God and the specific existence that belongs
to God alone." And no, this is not tritheism as has been charged
against us over the century, as Sebelius and as the modern
oneness Pentecost have charged us with tritheism. Oneness as
it is often called. That God, that Christ, and that
the Holy Spirit are but three different manifestations of one
great majesty is their doctrine. One person who assumes three
roles, they say, is God. Manifests Himself in three different
ways and three different forms. But they are three persons sharing
one essence, not three gods, three persons, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, sharing equally in the divine nature and being
in perfect unity and harmony on every matter, having the same
will, exactly as Jesus said, My Father works hitherto and
I work, John 5 and verse 17. And the Jews sought to kill Him
when they heard Him say that because they understood that
He made Himself equal with God, John 5 and verse 18. And Christ
did. He did claim equality with God. John 10 and 30, I and my Father
are one. And they wanted to kill Him there,
for they considered it blasphemy. For He was God manifest in the
flesh. I Timothy 3 and verse 16. And as someone once wrote, the
order they hold in their subsistence is the same they hold in their
works of providence." And hear this from the Puritan Thomas
Goodwin, quote, the Father is the foundation of the other two
subsistences begatting the Son and breathing the Holy Spirit
so he in like manner is the fountain of all action and operation."
God the Father is the moving One. The Father begins, the Son
carries on the motion and the Holy Spirit takes it up as well
and perfects or consummates and execute the final work in the
salvation of the elect. Now, let us come to consider
the part which each member of the Godhead takes in the saving
of the elect. that there is a very clear part
done by the Father, a very clear part that is done by the Son,
and a very clear part that is done by the Holy Spirit. And this is not so easily explained
or understood apart from some knowledge and belief in the Trinity,
that though the nature and the essence be one, yet the persons
are three. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Even here, in declaring this
great truth from the Word of God, let us work our way carefully
and deliberately into this great mystery that we have brought
before us this morning. First of all, by considering
the concurrence of the Holy Three In another great work, we might
get an example and an illustration of salvation. And that other
great work, of course, is creation. The concurrence of the Holy Three
in the work of creation. Now, when we look at the Scripture,
we see that all three have a part or a hand in creation. For we read that God created. In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth. We also read that it is ascribed
under Christ. John 1, 1 through 3, Hebrews
1, And verse 2, Colossians 1, 16 and 17 ascribes creation unto
God. And then thirdly also, like Job
chapter 26, verse 13, by his spirit he has garnished the heaven. And this is the consummating
work of it, and it was done by the Holy Spirit. Again in Job
33 verse 4 we read, The Spirit of God hath made me, and the
breath of the Almighty. hath given me life." But then
here is the difference between the work of the three persons
of the Godhead in the work of creation of the world and the
creation of humanity. as distinct from the salvation
of the elect. Whereas the first two, there
is not so clear a distinction between the holy three as there
is in the work of salvation. We do not see Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, for example, put together in the work of creation. Neither of those works did one
member of the Godhead become incarnate, nor suffer and die
and rise again, nor was the Spirit poured out. under the old economy
like under the new. Now this great distinction and
manifestation of the three-person, God did reserve for the times
of the gospel and the sending of His Son into the world. And for the first time ever,
There occurred the manifestation of the Holy Three not seen in
the world before this event. When in Matthew chapter 3, let's
look at that for a moment, verse 13 through verse 17, the incident
is the baptism of Jesus Christ by John. there is a concurrent
manifestation of all three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in this
work at the baptism of our Lord. And it was witnessed by a credible
witness by John himself. John, the forerunner of our Lord,
who had the honor and the privilege of baptizing our Lord that day
in the water. And the manifestation there was
on this wise, Matthew 3, 13 through 17. When Jesus was baptized,
He came out of the water. He was not sprinkled. He was
baptized. And the heavens were opened. Look at that very carefully.
Remember Genesis 7, 11? And the windows of heaven were
opened in that day. There's that expression again.
I wish we were told more about this or I wish I was enabled
to put into words what happened and what Jesus saw and what John
saw and those present there saw, it must have been a wonderful
manifestation that day. On the other hand, there is no
mistaking the significance of the event. It is a testimony
of the person and the work of Christ. And look at that again,
the heavens It's interesting that Mark, in his account, chapter
1 and verse 10, uses a word, I think it might be pronounced
schizo, which means to split or to sever. or to rend, or to
divide, or to be cloven, to be divided. This is the same word
in Matthew 27, 51, that the veil in the temple was rent into when
Jesus died. And it's used of the rocks that
were rent while our Lord was dying upon the cross. It's the
same word used in John 19, verse 24, of the soldiers and the garment
of Jesus. And they said, let us not rend
it, but let us gamble, fart, see who it might be. There was
some sort of great unexplainable opening, not only of the firmament,
but beyond. The two things more followed
the opening of heaven. A, the Holy Spirit descended
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And he did so in the visible
form of a dove anointing him for the great work that he was
entering upon as the mediator of the covenant. The Holy Spirit
of God came upon the Lord and rested upon him an anointing,
if you will. But then be, Matthew 3 and 17,
that's not all. a voice from heaven which said,
This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. But Mark and
Luke both, in their account, say that these words were spoken
directly unto Christ. Thou art my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased, And we believe those standing round about heard
that testimony and that great voice out of heaven. I cannot
resist speaking more particularly of several manifestations of
the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, witnesses to Him as the
Eternal One while He were up on earth. Call them confirming
signs, if you will, of the deity and the divinity of our Lord.
And of course, He was approved of God among them by wonders,
miracles and signs, Acts 2, 22 and 23. All of these works were
evidences of the deity of our Lord. He said once, believe me,
on account of my works. In addition, consider these manifestations
toward the Lord Jesus in His incarnate state. First, I would
mention the announcement of the angel unto Mary in Luke chapter
1, that he would be called the Son of God, Luke 1, 28 through
verse 32. An announcement, a special announcement
from an angel come from God. Secondly, in Luke chapter 2,
Verse 7 through verse 15, the manifestations at the birth of
our blessed Lord. A multitude of the heavenly host
praising God and saying glory to God in the highest. The signs
that were given to the shepherds who kept their flocks in the
field. This manifestation never occurred
at the birth of any other individual save our Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly,
the manifestation at His baptism, which we have already mentioned,
Fourthly, his transfiguration on the mount before three chosen
witnesses that he brought with him, Peter and James and John. And the scripture said he was
transfigured. His reign became bright, exceeding
white as any man is able to whiten it, and the appearing of Moses
and Elias on the Mount of Transfiguration. And then fifthly, the events
that occurred as our Lord was a dying upon the cross. This never occurred at the death
of anyone else. Darkness over the land for three
hours, rocks splitting open there in the vicinity, caves splitting
open and graves opening, the veil in the temple splitting
from top to bottom when our Lord said, it is finished. And now, The Holy Three being
more distinguished. in the time of the gospel and
the work of salvation than in any other work as Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. We may now come to consider the
great work of salvation and the major part that each member of
the Godhead works in the saving of sinners. And in preparation
for that, can we see three areas of work Let's name them. Number
one, salvation was purposed before the world began. Our eternal
election was choosing in the individual in Jesus Christ that
were to be the recipients of salvation. Secondly, those chosen
to salvation from the beginning needed to be redeemed out of
their sin, their depravity, their deadness, and the fall of mankind. This required a suitable redeemer
and redemption, Christ. And then thirdly, This election,
this redemption that is wrought in Christ needs to be applied
to those that are elected and those that are redeemed so that
it might be experienced by them. The elect and the redeemed are
one and the same group of individuals. Yes, and we might add a fourth
one, if we included the consummation in glory. Now in these, the Father
takes the lead, having chosen a great number in Christ before
the world. Ephesians 1, 3-5 is clear about
that. marking them out unto eternal
life. And then the text in 1 Peter
1 and verse 2, elect according to the foreknowledge of God. That is, chosen in accordance
with the foreknowledge of God. Now, not by looking ahead, to
see what they would do and therefore making his choice. Consider foreknowledge
in regard to the death of Christ as mentioned in Acts 2 and verse
23 where the usual interpretation of the Arminians and foreknowledge
is not possible. He was delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. That does not mean that
God looked down, saw that they would crucify His Son, and ordained
Him to be crucified. It has the meaning of Romans
8 and verse 29. For whom He did foreknow, He
also did predestinate or foreordain. God purposed an eternal purpose,
not that the Son and the Spirit were excluded from its formation,
for it concerned their work as well. For knowledge of God regards
person. not their action and not things
and not events. And as Goodwin put it, poor knowledge
expresses God's knowledge towards His people of love and regard
and approval. He knows them that are His, 2
Timothy 2 and verse 19, and He has given them to the Son both
by way of charge to save and a reward as a reward of his death. Now, as for the son's part in
the saving of the elect, he became incarnate. The second person
in the Godhead, as we sometimes refer to Him, assumed the likeness
of sinful flesh. The likeness of sinful flesh,
Romans 8.3, had the sins of them imputed unto Him and bore them
in His own body on the tree. And He was made sin. for us. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. He was made a curse, Galatians
3, verses 10-13. He made satisfaction to God in
their behalf. He acted as a surety to answer
and pay all of the debt of his people. He gave himself as the
one great sacrifice for his people, giving himself up to the awful,
awful death of the cross. He acted as both a priest and
a sacrifice. Verse Hebrew said, he offered
himself without spot to God. As a priest he offered. What
he offered was himself. To whom he offered it is unto
God. He offered Himself without spot
unto God, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin. In other
words, the Son took the middle ground to effect the Father's
election and the Spirit's application of it. And last but not least,
the part of the Holy Spirit who applied the election and the
accomplished redemption to the subject, our object. The great
work of the Holy Spirit is regeneration. This is His trademark work. This is His outstanding work,
if we might say it. This lays the foundation for
the application of redemption and election, to call and convert
them to Christ, to bring them to a saving knowledge of God
the Son and the Spirit to teach and to guide, to both convict
and assure in the life of the children of God. Scripture tells
us that the Holy Spirit is both the seal and the earnest. of our great salvation, sealed
unto the day of redemption. The earnest of the Spirit. Now, you've all put down earnest
money, have you not? The earnest of the Spirit is
the guarantee of the final and full payment of the elect of
the inheritance. The Spirit. who authored the
Word, opens our understanding unto that blessed Word. And in
this work, in this triune work, there is no jealousy, there is
no competitiveness between the three, each one of them glorifying
the other in each and every way. And I think, in closing, that
we see all three of these persons and their work early in the Ephesian
epistle. We see election, the work of
the Father, chapter 1, 3 through 6. In Ephesians 1, 7, in whom Christ
we have redemption. And chapter 2, that great chapter
on quickening or regeneration, which is the work of the Holy
Spirit. Except one be born of the Spirit,
cannot see or enter into the kingdom of God. Thus we say that
all three persons who dwell in the one divine essence took a
part in our salvation. The Father first, the Son took
a part, and the Spirit has a part. And these are blessed truths
unto us as we search out Scripture and the great salvation that
we have in Jesus Christ.