Blessed Trinity

Well, good evening everyone. Welcome to Sunday evening service. We're doing ice cream afterwards, is that correct? Is that right? Good deal for those of you like me who have sort of a gift of perspiration.

I know Mike can relate to that. Why don't you turn with me to John chapter 1. It's not the epistle of John, not 1st John. It's John chapter 1. What we'd like to discuss with you tonight, let me ask you actually first, how would you explain the doctrine of the Trinity to someone who had never heard of Christ?

Maybe a pagan, maybe somebody from another culture. How would you explain the doctrine of the Trinity? How can God be three persons, yet one God? How does that work? How does that happen? Some people you'd have to say, they'd ask, is that even biblical?

Is that even in the Bible? So this evening what we're going to do is we're going to talk about the triune nature of God. God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, also known as the Trinity. Now Trinity is not a word found in the Bible.

How many of you knew that? Trinity is not in the Bible. A lot of you knew that. It's not in the Bible. Does that mean it's not a biblical term? Well, we're going to find out tonight. I think you know the answer already.

Why Analogies Fall Short in Explaining the Trinity

Well, if you would explain that to somebody, let me start that way. How would you explain the doctrine of the Trinity? Would you use analogies? Maybe you'd say, well, it's like a shamrock. That's what St. Patrick did to the people in Ireland, right?

He said, well, here's this shamrock. He picked it up, showed it to the pagan druids in Ireland and said, here's what God is like. Three leaves. God is three persons. And he used that analogy as a bridge to help reach those people with the gospel of Christ.

And sure enough, Ireland was converted under the preaching of St. Patrick. Well, another analogy, like an egg. An egg, you have a shell, a yolk, and a white. Is that what the Trinity is like? Or maybe humans, we have a mind, we have a body, we have a spirit.

Maybe that's what the Trinity is like. Is that what you would do to explain the Trinity to someone? Well, I hope what you would do, I think you're trained to do, is take them to the Bible. And that's what we're going to do tonight.

Analogies are fine, but here's the problem with analogy. With analogy, it only takes you so far. All analogies, by definition, are imperfect. It's only going to get to that shamrock is going to break down at some point.

It's not going to follow all the way through. There's going to be some point where it's going to turn into a heresy if you just use one analogy. So what we have to do is go to the Word of God. And the best place I know of to find that doctrine centrally taught is in John 1.

Why the Trinity Matters for Theology and Defending the Faith

Now, you could ask yourself, am I a good theologian or a bad theologian? I think Pastor Steve said a few weeks ago, we're all theologians. So are you a good one or a bad one? Well, part of the goal tonight is I want to encourage you and challenge you to become a better theologian.

Even non-Christians are theologians too, right? It's just that they have a non-biblical theology. We all have a vision of God, good or bad. Did you know, according to Phil Johnson, that all heresies attack either the nature of Christ or the nature of salvation?

I'll say that again. Every single major heresy attacks either the nature of Christ or the nature of salvation. You wouldn't think, well, that's for those Jehovah's Witnesses or for those Mormons. That's somebody else.

Well, who's ever heard of the Weigh Down Workshop, Gwen Shamblin? Some people have heard of that. Did you know that she is anti-Trinitarian? She does not believe the doctrine of the Trinity. There are a lot of evangelical churches that have that ministry in them.

So if you think it's just a problem outside these doors, it's inside as well. So we need to be ready to defend the doctrine of the Trinity both inside and out the church. Well, tonight we're also going to take a look at a heresy called Arianism.

What Arianism was, it's named after around the 4th century, the year 300, a man named Arius and his followers. A modern offshoot of that is the Jehovah's Witnesses. And so if you come up with somebody who's just maybe Jehovah's Witnesses, maybe not.

I had a gentleman email me recently, a friend I hadn't seen, a coach I used to coach with a long time ago. Recently got back in touch with me, got my email, and almost the first thing he said is, hey, I heard you're in Bible school.

How about that doctrine of the Trinity? That's not even in the Bible. I said, whoa, I wasn't ready. Hi, Charlie, how you doing, you know? But immediately he put that heresy before me. Well, the good news is we have a lot of resources, so I was able to find the answer and email him back.

But you know what? In the 3rd century, they didn't have that. There was no CBD sales, right? There was no Wayne Grudem. They just did not have that. So guess what? The church was in trouble in the 3rd century.

We're going to talk a little about the history of the heresy that almost became the official doctrine of the church. It was that close. Well, tonight we're going to discuss a little of the history. We're also going to look at a few passages.

We're in John chapter 1. Let me read it for you. Before we do that, let me open with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you this evening that you have brought us all together to learn at your feet, as it were, from your word.

And Lord, I pray that your spirit would illuminate our minds as we listen to the doctrine about your beloved son, Jesus Christ. And Lord, we do thank you that you have given us this word and other resources to know the truth.

And we pray, Lord, that we would be attentive and, Lord, that we would be inclined to obey, more importantly. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, John chapter 1, beginning in verse 1, says this. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God, and all things came into being through him. And apart from him, nothing came into being that has come into being. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Well, a lot of people would like to turn to the first chapter of John and use this as a proof text. So what we're going to do tonight, we're actually going to look at not only John chapter 1, for a couple of the reasons why Jesus was God.

John 1 and the Eternal Deity of Christ

So if you're taking notes tonight, this is reasons to believe in the deity of Christ, or reasons to believe Jesus is God. And before we actually dig into the text, what I want to do is just take you back about a month or so when James White was here.

You remember he had a session on the Trinity? I just want to refresh your memory for a minute. What he said was, the Trinity can really be described as a triangle. And I don't have his PowerPoint projector here, so you just have to sort of use your mind.

The Trinity is, there's three basic truths that we have to keep in perfect balance. If any one of those is lost or is out of balance, then what happens is you lose the biblical doctrine of the Trinity.

The first one, the top of the triangle, so to speak, is monotheism. Deuteronomy 6, 4 to 8, says this, So we have monotheism as the top part of the triangle. The other part, the second part of the triangle, is God is three persons.

If we go to Matthew 3, verses 16 to 17, we see clearly there the baptism of Christ. And after being baptized, verse 16, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on him.

And behold, a voice of the heavens said, So we have monotheism as the first pillar. The second pillar is God is three persons. The third pillar, and this is where the Arian heresy and the Jehovah's Witnesses fall short.

Each of these persons is fully God, co-equal as God, and co-eternal. It wasn't God the Father first, and then came God the Son. They both were co-eternal, and that's what we'll see in the text here in John 1.

Well, the first proof, the idea here in John 1, really every phrase of John 1 is full of meaning. And what we're going to do is go phrase by phrase and just look through this and see what this teaches us about each person.

In this case, Christ is fully God. Now, a lot of people don't have a problem with God the Father. God the Father is God, yes. God the Spirit, okay. Less problem, God is Spirit, okay. But once you get to Jesus, that's where a lot of people fall short, and that's where a lot of people go astray.

So what we really want to concentrate is on Jesus because that's where the objections are going to come. Because why? Well, Jesus was human as well, okay, and that's where people fall, that's where people stumble, and that's where they have a problem.

So we want to understand how Jesus is God. And so we look at the very first phrase there, in the beginning. Where else have we heard that? That's from Genesis 1. Obviously, John is taking us back to Genesis 1.

Time eternal. This is time immemorial, eternity past, if you will. This is where the Gospel is said. This is where Jesus, the Word, is begun. Did he have a beginning? No. He was there in the beginning.

So it gives us our framework, it gives us our point of reference that Jesus was there in the beginning with God. And we'll get that in the next phrase. The Apostle here is saying that the Word was what we call preexistent.

Okay, the Word of God was preexistent. The Word existed before creation. And that's one little phrase. And in fact, in the Greek, it's exactly the same. In the Greek version of the Old Testament, the wording is exactly the same.

So John is pulling that out, pointing us to the fact that this Word, this is where we start. If you want to understand this Jesus, if you want to understand this Word, this is where you go, back to the very beginning, before creation began.

Well, the expression doesn't really refer... I want you to understand this. When we say, in the beginning, you know, if we say, well, this sermon had a beginning, or this service had a beginning, you think, well, time started.

Well, that's... in this understanding of the beginning and what that means, it doesn't mean that at all. It's an eternal term. It means eternity. So it's very important that the essential elements, one of the essential elements of God is that He is eternal, and we need to understand that that applies to Jesus as well.

So John is clearly stating, this Word that I'm giving forth to you is eternal. So the second phrase there, if you look in John 1, in the beginning was the Word. The Word of God was in the beginning. Where did this term come from?

Well, it came originally from Greek philosophy. It was used there. But even...it was a pagan term. And F .F. Bruce says this. He says, It denoted a principle in Greek philosophy of reason or order in the universe.

That was the Greek idea. It was just this idea of this nebulous ordering principle. Well, John took that much further. He used the Hebrew term and the Hebrew idea because if you look at Psalm 33 .6, here's what it says.

By the Word, and that's that same Greek word, logos, by the way, for the Greek students, logos, by the same Word of the Lord were the heavens made and the starry host by the breath of His mouth. So really here, John is hearkening back to this Hebrew idea, not just a simple Greek term, which was empty and it really was this nebulous term, but he's saying, No, it's a creative element.

And in the next phrase, actually, you're going to find that this word was instrumental in the creation of the world. So the question comes, How could He be a creature? We'll get to that. Because that's what Arius and his followers believe and the Jehovah's Witnesses today.

So it goes way beyond just speaking something. When God spoke the world into existence, it's not just He said it, but there's a creative process going on here. So really, you have to get a deeper understanding of what the word means in the Greek, the logos that he's referring to here.

It's an activity. It's a creative capacity of God. And clearly in this context, it's a reference to Christ. Let's look at the next phrase here, And the Word was with God. And the people that deny the divinity of Christ, they will say, It says the Word wasn't God.

It says the Word was just with God. So how can the Word be with God and God at the same time? And it makes them stumble. But really, this is wonderful because John is really pulling apart. He's not saying that the Word is exactly the same as all of God, but he's saying that the Word was with God.

So you have God the Father, you have God the Son here at the beginning. And John's making a very clear statement that the Word was a distinct person from the Father. And remember the triangle, you need three persons for the Trinity, you need one God, and you need that they're both co-equal, we're both fully God.

And so what he's saying here is not only that He is there at the beginning, is eternal, but that He's also with God. But that leaves us a little bit hanging, so we have to go to the next part of this phrase.

And this is where the Jehovah's Witnesses translation, I believe it's a New World translation, has a different translation. And it says this, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Well, that's just a bomb. If you are reading this Gospel for the first time, the Word was God, that is an amazing statement for John to make. But he builds upon it. The Word was eternal, the Word is another person of God, and the Word was God.

So putting all these things together is very, very essential to do in understanding how to defend the doctrine of the Trinity. You go to Jehovah's Witnesses, they're going to bring out their translation, the Word was a God.

Well, which is it? Well, without knowing Greek, it's very, very hard to take somebody to this passage in dispute. My Bible says the Word was God. Yours says the Word was a God. Well, you know what? You've got to actually ask them a couple of questions.

First of all, this exact Greek wording of God is translated 282 times in the New Testament. Almost every time it's translated as God. Okay? In Greek you have the article, and you have an article is the word the in Greek.

Well, here it's God does not have the article. Well, that could present a problem because, you know, if we have something that's indefinite, we use our little English word a. Well, here it doesn't have the definite article saying the one God.

So they justify it by saying, well, it doesn't have the article. It mustn't be God. He's a God. Well, what do you open up then? You get rid of monotheism. You just toss that out, and now you're back to tritheism.

So if somebody challenges you, you have to ask them, so how many gods do you want? How many gods do you believe in? And so the error that they replace this traditional orthodox belief with in the biblical teaching is much worse than what they're trying to avoid, that Jesus is God.

Well, I don't have time to really go much further into this because what I want you to do is I want you to get a broad picture of what it says regarding Jesus and the divinity of Christ. Again, this is proof number one that Jesus is God because the Bible clearly says he was God.

Now, let's look in verse 2 to find out what else it says. In verse 2, he was in the beginning with God. Now, he is referring obviously to the Word. So again, he's saying that this is a distinct person who is also God.

Okay, so this does not say that, okay, he's not God. It's just saying that here we have the second part of that Trinitarian understanding, the Word was with God. In verse 3, he was in the beginning with God and all things came into being through him.

Apart from him, nothing came into being. In him was life and life was the light of men. The life, excuse me, was the light of men. Let's stop there. In verse 3, what John is saying is that all things came into being through him.

Now, that's an astonishing statement as well. Not only was the Word God, but all things were created or came into being through that very same Word. So, this term created really is reserved for God alone.

Okay, we can be creative in one sense, but the creation and everything that was created only comes from God. Now, what Arius and the Jehovah's Witnesses would argue is that Jesus was a creative being.

This disproves that. This says that, no, Jesus was not a creative being. He himself was the creator. Again, an astonishing statement because anybody who reads the rest of the Gospel of John would say, but he's human too.

And this is the God that we believe in. This is the God of the Bible. Fully human, fully divine. The other part of it is not only the creative aspect. Let me give you a cross-reference for that. We have in Colossians, Paul says in Colossians 1, 16 and 17, for by him, referring to Christ, for by him all things were created both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him.

Now listen to this. He is before all things and in him all things hold together. So we have Christ here not only creating things but holding them together. The Word of God, the Son of God, as we will read later, clearly identified as the Son of God, He is the creative power.

He is the one who holds everything and sustains everything. It's created by him and for him. Just an amazing thing to hear. But it's the truth. It's God's Word. Hebrews 1, 1 -3 says, God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he also made the world.

And he is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature. And he upholds all things by the Word of his power and when he made purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of majesty on high.

Again, teaching that this Word, this Jesus is fully God, that he has all the creative capacity of God in person, that this is Jesus. John is making no mistake about it. He wants you to understand right up front in his Gospel.

He's writing the Gospel so that we believe in Christ. He states that in John 20. But he's also saying, I want you to know who this Jesus is. No doubt about it. No mistakes. This Jesus is God. So in summary, just in this first proof that Jesus is God because the Bible clearly states he was God, we see from John 1, 1 -5 that Jesus was co-eternal with the Father, that he was co-equal with the Father, and he has the personal qualities of God, the creative nature and the creative duties of God, if you will.

And he's a different person from the Father. But he's the same divine essence as God the Father. Jesus is God, the second person of the Trinity. The Bible clearly states that. And we only looked at three places, but you could look at many more.

Jesus Does What Only God Can Do

Well, the second reason that we believe that Jesus is God or proof number two is that Jesus Christ is God because he did things only God can do. Now, we've just looked at the creative aspect, and this is clearly stated in John 1, 2 or John 1, verse 2 and verse 3.

One commentator said, this verse may seem to be repetitious, verse 3 he's going back to, but it succinctly summarizes the truths taught in verse 1 by means of restatement, preexistence, distinctiveness, and deity.

Some other examples of what Jesus can do that only God can do. God can forgive sins. Jesus forgives sins. In Mark chapter 2, when Jesus heals the man, in Mark chapter 2, verse 7, he says your sins are forgiven, and the Pharisees get upset because they clearly understand that the only one who can forgive sins is God.

And they accuse him of blasphemy because he was claiming to forgive other people's sins towards God. So clearly that was a statement that he was God. So Jesus can forgive. Jesus is creator. He's forgiver of sins.

And in 2 Timothy 4, 1, Christ is judge. And not only does the Bible state clearly that Jesus was God in those elements where it clearly states he's the exact nature of God, but also Jesus does things that only God can do.

That's proof number 2. Proof number 3, Jesus is God because he fulfilled Old Testament prophecies of a divine Messiah. In Psalm 2, it's a Messianic Psalm. Worship Jehovah and do homage to the Son. This is Psalm 2.

In Acts 13, 33, the same exact title of Jehovah is applied to Christ. Worship Jehovah and do homage to the Son. Now in Hebrew, Hebrew parallelism, when you get Hebrew parallelism, when you have one phrase, typically it's equivalent.

So you have in Psalm 2, worship Jehovah and do homage to the Son. So in that sense, he's equating Jehovah God with the Son. And so in that sense, Jesus is fulfilling. And these Old Testament prophecies that were originally written about Jehovah were applied to the Son of God.

In Psalm 110, Jesus existed before David. And it states clearly there in Matthew 22 that he's referring to David. He's superior to David. He is the divine Messiah as referenced in that passage. Why don't you turn with me for a minute to Isaiah 9, verse 6.

And we'll further deal with this third proof that Jesus fulfilled divine prophecy or prophecy that there would be a divine Messiah. In Isaiah 9, excuse me, I just swallowed some water. In Isaiah 9, verse 6, we have a prophecy, excuse me, we have a prophecy of the divine Messiah.

And in that prophecy, Isaiah is stating, and we usually hear this right at Christmas time, but Isaiah is stating that the people in verse 2 who walk in darkness will see a great light. Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.

Now, let's jump down to verse 6 of Isaiah 9. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

So we have here clear statements about titles that can only apply to God. And Isaiah is saying here, a child will be born to us. This is a good verse to reference this with, is Isaiah 7, verse 14, where it says a child will be born and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us.

So this is a very important point because people get the idea, well, the Old Testament had this idea that there was no divine Messiah, there was no idea that the Son would have the nature of God, when in fact that's not true at all.

And this is one of probably the main, if you were to take somebody to the Scriptures, this is one of the main passages you want to take them to, Isaiah 9, verse 6. Let's look at the titles. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God.

That is an incredibly strong description. That is an incredibly strong name of God used in the Old Testament, used in other places as well, referring only to God Jehovah, God the Father. Eternal Father, Av Olam.

That is a term that can only mean Father Everlasting. Again, the eternal element, that this divine Messiah was going to not only be there at the beginning with God, as we saw in John chapter 1, but He's going to be the everlasting Father here.

Again, the eternal element, the quality of God as applied to Christ. And Prince of Peace. As we know, He brought peace in the hearts of men who would believe. And so this is a third proof that Jesus was divine.

Not only did the Bible clearly state that He was in many places, not only does He do things only God can do, but He also fulfills the Old Testament prophecies that clearly state that there would be a divine Messiah.

Christ's Divine Claims, Worship, and Church History

Well, there are other proofs, and let me take you quickly just to a couple others. I'm not going to take you to these passages. Just let me read them to you. Jesus is God because He claimed to be God.

In John 8, verse 58, before Abraham was, I am. That I am statement, that again, when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush, when Jehovah God appeared to Moses, that was the name that He asked to be referred to.

I am who I am. And Jesus here is referring to I am. I am God. Before Abraham was, I am. Not I was, but I am. And clearly, the Pharisees understood what He was saying because they react to it. And they say that we're going to stone you for blasphemy because you, a mere man, claim to be God.

So here's another proof. Jesus Himself claimed to be God. And there are other places. Actually, let's turn to Revelation chapter 1 quickly. Revelation chapter 1. Again, Jesus claims to be God. A lot of times I've had Jehovah's Witnesses very infrequently come to my door.

They deny the deity of Christ. And I'm not sure how much traction you'll make discussing, without a knowledge of Greek, discussing John 1 with them. But you can point out the inconsistencies there. But if you take them to Revelation chapter 1 and verse 8.

And here, God is speaking and He says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. So you take somebody who doesn't believe in Trinity and say, who is that speaking of?

They'll say, well, it says right there, the Lord God. That's exactly right. Well, turn over to me the Alpha and the Omega. Turn over with me then to Revelation chapter 22. Revelation chapter 22 and verse 12 to 13.

Revelation 22 verses 12 to 13. And this is just an amazing, again, passage where Christ is claiming that He is God. In verse 12 it reads, Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to render to every man according to what he has done.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. And you ask the person, who is that speaking? He looked down to verse 16 and says, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things for the churches.

So you take them to Revelation chapter 1 .8. There's the Lord God saying, I'm Alpha and Omega. Take them to verse 22, Revelation 22 .13. Jesus saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is the first and the last, the one who is the one who is to come.

So Jesus is clearly stating, again, that He is God. Well, some other proofs quickly. Jesus is God because He received worship that belongs to God alone. The Bible says He's God. He does things. He has qualities only God has.

He's omniscient. He's judge. He's creator. He also fulfills the Old Testament prophecies that refer to the divine Messiah. And here in John chapter 20, verses 25 through 28, we have the password. Doubting Thomas wasn't present, but now he is.

It's the upper room. Or it's the disciples' room. I'm not sure it was the upper room. It wasn't. But we have the disciples meeting, and Jesus appears to them, and Thomas is now present. And Thomas says, Jesus says, feel my hands, feel my feet.

Stick your hand on my side. I am risen from the dead. And Thomas can only say, my Lord and my God. That reaction, if Jesus was not God, what would He have done? He would have said, no, no, no. You don't worship me.

But no, He commended him and says, blessed are you, Thomas, because you have seen me and believe. But blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. So Jesus received worship as only God can receive worship.

In other places, the Apostle Peter, preaching near the temple, they told him to stop preaching in the name. They wanted to worship. Paul, for example, in Athens, they wanted to worship him. They said, don't worship us.

We're just men, Paul and Barnabas. They refused worship because worship belongs to only God alone. A good, righteous Jew would have understood that. So Jesus was saying something that was totally radical.

I am God. He received worship as God. And there are many other proofs. There are many proofs. You can't take people to one proof text. It would be great if you could just say, oh, here's the Trinity. It's here in one chapter.

John 1, verses 1 -5 is about as close as we get. But it's important to know that these arguments go one on top of another and they prove that Jesus was the Son of God, the divine Messiah. Well, what I want to do for the next few minutes is just take you, bring you an illustration from church history of where the divinity of Christ was in serious jeopardy, as I said at the beginning, and was almost lost.

You know, before about the year 300, Christianity was legalized. Emperor Constantine became a Christian. Well, before that point, what was going on? There was a lot of persecution. And basically, the church had all it could do to survive.

The persecution was so strong that the church really didn't have time to deal in all these doctrinal issues the way they would like to. Well, peace came. The empire became Christian, so to speak. And so the church didn't have to worry about survival.

So the situation was ripe for this kind of controversy to erupt. Not only that, but as I said before, you didn't have the resources. You know, you didn't have the Greek studies. You didn't have the knowledge level that we have today to determine, to answer a question.

Somebody comes up to you, and for example, the first person that really brought this to a head was a man named Arius. Now, Arius was in the north of Alexandria, Egypt. And Arius was less than a bishop.

He was more of a pastor. But he heard his bishop give a sermon saying that Jesus was exactly the same nature as God. And he accused him of what we call modalism, that Jesus was the exact same thing as God the Father.

They were exactly the same. They weren't separate persons. So he accused him of heresy. Well, he used proof texts like Luke 2, 42, and 52. Well, it says that Jesus grew in wisdom. Well, if Jesus was God, how can he grow in wisdom?

That doesn't make any sense. Jesus at the well. John chapter 4, you have Jesus said, I thirst, I'm thirsty. Well, if he's God, how can he thirst? God doesn't thirst. And other verses like Matthew 24, in that end time chapter where Jesus said, the end will come, and no one knows the day or the hour, but the Father in heaven.

They say, see, he's not God. God would know what time the end time would come. And then John 14, 28, the Father is greater than I. There's the perfect proof text for Jehovah's Witnesses. The Father is greater than I, therefore he's not God.