We're going to use the same text
we used last week, 1 John chapter 5 and verse 7. And we're talking about the Trinity,
the Trinity. And this is the second message
on it, and it says, that bear record in heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. There are three in heaven, the
Father, the Word, which is Christ, and the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one. But yet there's three. It tells us plainly there's
three, and yet there's just one. And you know, last week I started
out by asking questions. And I told you that the Trinity
is not in the Scriptures. The word Trinity isn't. Is it? I'll try to use a little better
grammar. And I know that substitution
isn't. Sovereignty isn't. But the truths
of those things are there, plain for everybody to see. But I ask
five questions. And the first one I ask, if you'll
remember right, does the Bible teach that God is one person? No, it teaches there's one God,
but in three persons. Does the Bible preach or teach
that there is a Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Yes, we
just read about it. Yes, there's three, one God and
three persons. The third question was, is the
word one, that word one, is it used in the Bible in reference
to God? Because those who reject the Trinity, and lots and lots
of people reject the Trinity, they use that word, one, to do
it with. They use that word, one. And oh, but then we said,
we answered that, that there's one God in three persons. And
then the fourth question was, can a man understand the Trinity?
No. He can preach it. But you really
can't understand how can one be three and three be one? How
can there be one God in three distinct persons and still be
one God? And when we get to glory, we're
going to see one God. We worship one God. We don't
worship three people. We worship one God. Is that not
right? I don't worship three different
people. I don't worship three different
persons. I worship one God. who is manifested in His Son.
Does the Bible teach that the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit are three distinct persons who are one God? Those were the
five questions I asked last week. I'm going to ask you five more,
and we'll be done this week. But in looking and studying the
Scriptures, and studying the doctrine of the Trinity, we're
dealing with truths that are all of God's truths, all of them.
They must be received by faith. They must be believed. They can
be received by faith. There's a lot of them you can't
explain, but you can believe them. They can be taught, but
you can't explain them. And that's why I ask the question,
how can one be three and three be one? How can that be? And I want to ask you five more
questions here. And here's the first one, or the sixth question. Did God have a Son? before Jesus
Christ was born in Bethlehem. Oh, yes. Yes, He certainly did. Oh, yes. Look over with me at
Proverbs chapter 30. Did God have a son before Jesus
Christ was born in Bethlehem? And over in Proverbs chapter
8 and verse 30. Chapter 30 and verse 4. I'll get it right here in a minute. Proverbs 30. You know, now this is one of
those things that Christ was always God's Son. And this is
one of the mysteries of the Godhead, that the Lord Jesus Christ, though
He's God's Son, He is as old as the Father, He is as eternal
as the Father, He is the Father eternal, the Son's eternal. Is
the Father from everlasting? The Son's from everlasting. But
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, He had a time that He came into
this world. A child was born, but a son was
given. And that son came into time,
but beloved, the son had always been with the father. Now that's
one of the great mysteries of the Godhead. How can a father
and a son? I've been a father now for soon
to be 42 years. But God's been a father since
eternity. And the son's been the son since eternity. Look
at Proverbs 30, verse 4. Who hath ascended up into heaven,
or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in
his fist? Who hath bound the waters in
a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What's
his name? And what's his son's name, if
you can tell? You know there's a father and
a son in the same verse. And if the father is everlasting,
then the son must be everlasting. And how can this be? I can't
explain it, I just know it's true. I just know it's true. And to deny this, beloved, to
deny the eternal generation of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He
is from everlasting, He's the everlasting Father, and He's
the Prince of Peace, and deny, beloved, that He is as eternal
as God Himself, that He was always with the Father. To deny that
is to be anti-Christ. Look at John 2.22 with me just
a moment. That's what I read there in 1
John 2. You know, that He that divided not the doctrine of Christ. And that dividing the doctrine
of Christ, it means a heapsight more than just Christ coming and doing His work,
but it's who He is, His eternality. Because He is eternal. Look there
in 1 John 2.22. Who is He a liar? Who is a liar?
But he that denieth Jesus is the Christ. Christ means the anointed one,
the one sin of the Father, the one that dwelt with the Father,
the one ordered of God. And then it says there, he is
antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. If you deny that
they're equal and eternal and everlasting, 1 John 2.22, if
you deny the Father and the Son, you're an antichrist. If you
say the Son cannot possibly be as old as the Father, and the
Father cannot be as old as the Son, well, then I tell you, you're
denying Christ. You're denying the Father and
the Son. And, oh, beloved, the doctrine of Christ is who He
is. And His work is eternal. You know what He said? He said
that He came to give eternal life. Now, if that's eternal
life, that means that His work is eternal. If He gives you eternal
life, how long is it going to last? Is it going to last until
you lose it? Is it going to last until you
fall away? Until you backslide? Until you
go back into the world? No, if He gives you eternal life,
then His work is eternal. It's got an eternal quality to
it because He's an eternal being. He says, Thou hast given Him
power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as
many as Thou hast given Him. His work is eternal. Did our
Lord ever say, I am the Father? Did He ever say, I am the Father?
He said, I am the Father, I warn. He said, he that hath seen me
hath seen the Father. That's what He said, I am the
Father, I warn. How could they be warned if they weren't warned
from all eternity? God's eternal? Is the Son not
eternal? They're warned. He never said,
I am the Father. And you never heard the Father
say, I am Jesus. You never heard the Holy Spirit
say, I am Jesus. No, they all have distinct places,
and the son is as old as the father. Did God have a son before
Christ was born in Bethlehem? And I know this, the Lord Jesus
Christ is not His own father. It can't be. He's the only begotten
Son of God. I'm going to read you something
over in Luke. You don't have to turn to it. I'll just read
it to you. Luke 1, about Christ being born. It says there in verse 30, Then
the angel came to Mary and said, You're going to have a son, going
to be the son of the highest. Mary said unto the angel, How
shall this be? Saying, I know not of man. The
angel answered, Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power
of the highest shall overshadow thee. Now watch this, Therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God. Now, beloved, why did he say
that holy thing? Because there's no way to describe
the Lord Jesus Christ, his eternality, as he was going to come in that
holy thing. How are you going to describe
God going into the womb of a virgin? How are you going to describe
the Holy Ghost coming on a woman? How are you going to describe
the seed of God putting in on her? And he says that holy thing
shall be called the Son of God. Huh? And that's why he's called
a son of God. Here's the seventh question.
Does the Lord Jesus Christ, does He possess all the attributes
of deity? Does He? Is He an inferior deity? Is He subordinate to God some
way? No, the Scripture says when He come into the world, God said,
let all the angels of God worship Him. And oh, some people want to say
He's inferior. But oh no, he's not in fear.
In the beginning was the Word. The Word was God. Everything that was made was
made by Him. And that's what I mean, beloved,
the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and
sent to dwell among us. And we beheld His glory as the
glory of the only begotten. Is the Lord Jesus Christ as He
has the attributes of God? Yes, He does. He's called God. That's why 1 Timothy 3.16 says,
without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God,
God, was manifest in the flesh. God, that's why they said to
Philip, show us the Father. Have you seen me for so long
time and you've not seen me? If you've seen me, you've seen
the Father. If you've seen the attributes of God and the power
of God, and you believe there's one God, if you've seen me, you've
seen Him. If you've seen His power and
you believe in His power, you see His power in me. If you see
His attributes, you see them in me. And oh, let me quickly
give you five attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ, and God, the
only characteristics that God possesses, attributes that only
God possesses. And one is eternality. No one
else is eternal but God. No one else is eternal. We come
into the stage, and we're here for a little time, and we're
gone. There's a time we come, and there's a time we leave.
We're not eternal. Even the angels were not eternal.
The angels were created. The world's not eternal. God
says that heavens and earth will pass away. But He's the only
eternal being in the world is God. No one else is eternal. And so let me ask you this. Is
the Lord Jesus Christ eternal? I just told you, just a minute
ago, he told that bunch one time they was gathering around to
go pick up stones to stone him. And he says, before Abraham was,
he just said this, I am. I am. They understood very, very
plainly that he was identifying himself as the one that spoke
to Moses out of that burning bush on the mountain. When he
said, I am, they understood clearly. He said, I am. I am. And beloved, I am. He never said,
I was. He said, I am. He didn't say,
I'm going to be. He said, I am. What does that
mean? That means there never was a
time that I wasn't. I am. You look in the beginning of
time, I am. When he met Moses on the mountain,
I am. When he stood before those Jews, I am. When they come to
get him, to take him out of the Garden of Gethsemane, they said,
we're looking for Jesus in Nazareth. He said, I am. And they fell
over backwards. I am. Look in Revelation 1.8
with me just a moment. Revelation 1.8. I'll show you
that Christ is eternal. Revelation 1.8. He says here, I am Alpha and
Omega. That's the saying, I'm the beginning
and the end, and everything in between. I'm Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord. Which is, which
was, and which is to come. What he said was, I was, I am,
and always will be. Oh, not only, and here's another
quality that only blows to God. Is God immutable? That's just
a big word that says that God doesn't have the ability to change.
Well, is Christ immutable? Does He have the attributes of
immutability? Scriptures tell us plainly that
Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday, and forever. He never
changes. Never changes. And then how about
omnipresence? Now this is one of those things
that's hard to grasp for me. That the Lord Jesus Christ, while
He was on this earth, He still had omnipresence. And only God
can be everywhere at all times. But our Lord Jesus Christ was
on this earth, and He was omnipresent. He seen everything and knowed
everything that was going on. And those attributes belong only
to God. He's everywhere. Is Christ everywhere? This is
one of those verses of Scripture that's just absolutely astounding
to me. John chapter 3 and verse 13.
This is one of those. I remember when we were going
through John, I remember looking at this. You know, that's why
the Lord said, Lo, I am always with you, even unto the end of
the world. How can he be with us if he's not omnipresent? If
he don't have omnipresence. How can he be with us if he's
not omnipresent? And look here in John 3.13. Christ is speaking. And no man hath ascended up to
heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of
man which is in heaven." He's there and he's here at the same time? You know, when Philip went
to Get Nathanael and bring him to Christ. We found Him who is
the Messiah. Well, who is He? Jesus of Nazareth. He said, Can any good thing come
out of Nazareth? And so he got there, and the
Lord Jesus says, Oh, and Israelite indeed, in whom is no God. Nathanael
said, How knowest thou me? He said, Before Philip called
you, I saw you sitting under that fig tree. Oh, you are the
Messiah. How did he see him out of that
fig tree? Unless he was ever worth it. Oh, where two or three
are gathered together in my name, and our Lord, you know what He
said, I'll be with them. Now, wherever two or three are gathered
together, I mean, any place on this world, any time, any place
on the planet, where there's two or three gathered in His
name, He said, I'll be in the midst. How can He be wherever
we're at the same time, unless He's got omnipresence? He's omnipresent,
huh? And how about omniscience? All
wise knows everything. Our Lord Jesus Christ, only God
knows everything, but did Christ know everything? Of course He
did. You go out through the Scriptures,
how many times is it saying Jesus knew their thoughts? Let me show
you something in Matthew chapter 17. You know, when our Lord turned
the water into wine and performed all those miracles, People went
to bragging on him and all that. He would not commit to men. You
know why I said that? Because he knew. He knew all. He knew all those people. He
knew every man. He knew everything there was
to know about a man. And that's why he didn't commit to man.
That's why he didn't trust man. That's why he didn't take their
bragging and all that, because he knew everything about them.
But Matthew 17, look what it says here in verse 24. Talking about omniscience. And
when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money
or tax money, you know, when you come bring something in,
you have to pay tribute on it to bring it in. Came to Peter
and said unto him, does not your master pay tribute? Does not
your master pay the tax? He said, yes. Of course, you
know, Peter didn't know whether or not, but he said yes. And
when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, stopped
him, and said, Simon, what thinkest thou? Of whom do the kings of
the earth take custom of tribute, of their children or of strangers? Peter said, strangers. When strangers
come in. That's who they take taxes when
they bring things in. Taxes. Strangers. Peter saith
unto him, of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, then are
the children free. The children will have to pay
this tribute, these taxes. He said, right. Notwithstanding,
lest we should offend them. Go to the sea, cast in a hook,
take up the fish that first comes up, and when you've opened his
mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money. Take that and give
unto them for me and thee." How did he know where that fish was?
How did he know the first one come up? How did he know it had
money in his mouth? How'd that happen? He put the fish there, put the
money in his mouth, Instead, there's a fellow named Simon
Peter coming to catch you here in a little bit and brought him
up there. That's what I'm telling you.
He's all wise. He's on mission. He's on the present. He is God. He is God. He is as much God
as God is God because he has all the attributes of God. The
fullness of the Godhead dwells in him. And probably show you
the differences in the Godhead and yet they're all still one
God. How about omnipotence? Having all power? Oh my, attributes
that only God possesses, all power and all omnipotence, having
all power and authority. You know what our Lord says? Matthew 28, 18, all power and
all authority is given unto me. Every bit of it is given unto
me. So go, go. And so Christ possesses all the
attributes of God Himself, the Eternal God. Let me ask you this
eighth question. Is the Holy Spirit a person?
He don't have a body. But the Father don't have a body.
Can you be a person without a body? The Father is spirit, pure spirit.
If we worship Him, we worship Him in spirit and in truth. Christ
is the only God that you can see. And the Holy Spirit, He's as
much God as the Son, and He's as much God as the Father, but
it's the Holy Spirit, yes, He's a person, why He's called God.
Over in Acts chapter 5 and verse 3, I'll read it to you, you don't
have to look at it if you don't want to. But Acts chapter 5, you remember
when Ananias and Sapphira, they sold some stuff and kept back
part of it, you know, and brought certain out and laid it at the
apostles' feet. They wanted to act like they
was doing a great big deed for the Lord, doing like everybody
else was, giving all of it, but they lied, and they kept that
part to themselves and said they brought it all to the Lord. It
says in verse 3, But Simon Peter said to Ananias, Why hath Satan
filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back
part of the price of the land? Was it remained? Was it not your
own? After it was sold, was it not your power? Why hast thou
conceived this thing in your heart? You've not lied unto men,
but you've lied unto God. He says, when you're lying to
the Holy Ghost, you're lying unto God. Oh, beloved, I tell you, the
Holy Spirit, He's a person. You know, all a person knows.
And the Scriptures tell us that who knows the things of a man
save the spirit of a man, and no one knows the things of God
save the Spirit of God. And the Spirit of God takes the
things of God and shows them unto us. Yea, the deep things
of God. He knows. And not only does a person know,
but he also wills. He talks about the gifts of the
Spirit. He says there that he severally,
the self-same spirit severally gives the gift to whom he will. He has a will. Thirdly, he also
testifies. A person testifies. You know,
everybody, you know, one time or another, we testify. I testify
to the fact of the Scriptures being true. I testify to God
saving me. Paul said, I have this testimony
of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That's all I want to know. Well,
the Holy Spirit testifies. A person testifies. He said,
he shall not speak of himself, but he shall testify of me. Speak
of me. And I tell you, the Holy Spirit
can be vexed. can be troubled. He can be made
angry. In Isaiah 63 it says, You have
benched my Holy Spirit. He can be grieved. Grieve not
the Holy Spirit of God, for by yourself to the day of redemption.
And look in Romans chapter 8. I want you to see this. See what
he does for us. Romans chapter 8. The Holy Spirit
is a person What it says here in Romans 8.26,
ìLikewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know
if not what we should pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself
makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.î
So we have a person, Christ intercedes for us, and here he talks about
the Holy Spirit interceding for us. He prays for us. And then
look on going down here, it says, And he that searches the heart
knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession
for the saints according to the will of God the Father and the
Spirit, distinct here, two distinct persons. And the Holy Spirit
intercedes and prays to the Father for us with groanings that cannot
be uttered, helps us with our infirmities. When we're impatient,
when we can't bear the will of God in a certain way, then the
Holy Spirit helps us with these impermanences. He makes intercession
for us, and He does it to the Father. And then the ninth question, and this is something to me. I don't know what it would mean
to you. Do the blessed persons of the Trinity, the God, the
Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, do they possess self-awareness?
Each individual, do they possess self-awareness? You know, we do. Me and you,
we possess self-awareness. I have self-awareness. I know
who I am. I know where I am. I know what I'm thinking. I,
you know, I'm aware of my relationship with you. I have that awareness.
I have awareness of your relationship with me. I have an awareness
of my relationship with God. And so a person has self-awareness.
They are conscious of themselves, conscious of their being, conscious
of their work, conscious of their nature, conscious of their being.
And we find in the Scriptures that the Trinity have self-awareness
as individuals. And yet they're one God, and
they all have this self-awareness as individuals. And you know,
the Father says, this is my beloved Son. Now the Father has awareness
of Himself. This is my, my beloved Son. He has awareness of His relationship
with His Son. This is my Son. The Lord Jesus has self-awareness.
He says, now, Father, Now, Father, glorify thou me. Me. He's aware of his relationship
with his Father. Now, Father, glorify thou me
with the glory which I had with you before the world ever was.
He is aware that he had glory before the world ever began.
He was aware right now that the Father was going to give it back
to him. And, oh, you're talking about
self-awareness. When he screamed out from the
cross and cried out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? Do you ever note anybody have
more self-awareness of that? That when he cried out, My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And the Holy Ghost, He has self-awareness. The Lord said of Him, He'll not
speak of Himself. He knows, he's aware of his duty,
he's aware of his work, and it is to glorify Christ. It is to
seal and comfort the saints of God. It is to teach the saints
of God. And that's why he says he'll
not speak of himself. And they all three, one God,
but they're all three aware of their own relationship with one
another and their individuality. It's a mystery. It's a mystery
to me. And then last of all, is it necessary
to have a body to be considered a person? No. You know, when you think
about, folks, this is Gary Striker and I was talking about this
today. When somebody, you know, the Lord Jesus told that people
on the cross, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Now they
buried him. Christ came out of the tomb with a body. That fellow,
his body didn't come out of the tomb. What kind of, what was
it that went to glory? Is it just his spirit, just his
soul? You know, when the rich man was
in hell, his body was still in the ground. That's what the resurrection's
all about, God giving us a new body. And he talked about the
spirit that just men made perfect. So, you know, I know that when
Christ comes, He's going to change this body. He's going to take
the bodies as dust and He's going to bring them back into existence.
He's going to make them like His body. I do know that, but
I know that when, you know, that person that was in that body,
that body is still in the ground, but that person is the person,
whoever that person is, that's the one with the glory. But the
body is still there. So can a person be a person without
a body? Of course he can. You know, in
Hebrews 10, 5, it says this, you know, that sacrifice and
offers thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. You know, Christ was eternal. Christ never dwelt in temples
made with hands. Christ is just God. And having
in eternity measured the waters in the hall of his head, for
him to come into time, God made a body, prepared a body, and
made a body for Christ to come here and live in. And once he
assumed that body, he kept that body. And right now, there's
a man sitting in God's right hand in a body, and got all the
evidences of his death in his body. And oh, beloved, the Lord took
a body to dwell in. He existed before, and God is
spirit. The Holy Spirit is spirit. And
we worship Him in spirit and in truth. And one of these days,
one of these days, He'll take these old, sorry, bodies, getting
old bodies, wrinkled up old bodies, blind bodies, deaf bodies, bone crumbling bodies. Change them just like that. I'm
looking forward to it. Well, I don't know what... I
hope I didn't make that too confusing to you. Our Father, in the blessed name
of the Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for Your goodness and Your
mercy to us today, for preserving us and keeping us. Lord, we need
You. We desire You. We want to be
taught of You. I want to edify you, dear saints.
I want to be a blessing to your children. I pray again for the
sick among us, the afflicted. Save your people in this place.
We ask in Christ's name. Amen. Well, I'll see you Sunday,
God willing.