Classic Friday: The Beza Briefing (The Trinity)

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Housekeeping, Travel Updates, and a New Beza Segment

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is Michael A. Abendroth, and we today are recording, it is October 24th, 2020. It is high noon today. The leaves are falling outside. I pinched a nerve in my neck, or I�ve got a bad disc in my neck, and my shoulder�s killing me.

It�s been about three weeks for that, so I have not been riding a bicycle, but it would be a great day to ride a bicycle today. A couple of housekeeping issues. Number one, the Israel trip 2021, February, has been postponed to 2022, but that�s only 15, 16, I don�t know how many months away from that we are.

Not that far. So you can contact me, Mike, at NoCompromiseRadio .com. Some of you want your deposits back, great, let me know, and others want us to keep those deposits for the next time, 2022, February 23rd through March something like 3rd or 4th.

Oops, I just hit this thing here, trying to get myself comfortable with this back issue I have with this disc, neck, nerve deal, who knows what it is. Anyway, the other bit of housekeeping, don�t forget if you order Sexual Fidelity, the book that I wrote about that topic from a biblical perspective, basically encapsulating conversations I had with my son Luke when he was growing up, and I still have those conversations with Luke, that you get the things that go bump in the church for free.

You don�t have to note that, you just, if you order the Sexual Fidelity book online, I�ll send you the other one for free as well. Anyway, that�s it, Mike Abendroth, today we�re going to try something new.

I can�t guarantee I�m going to keep doing this, because if it�s a bomb, then why bother? But I always am thinking about, well, I shouldn�t say that, I need to tell the truth, I sometimes think about, well, should we do something new with the show, and it�s kind of not as edgy as it used to be, and it�s a lot of Hebrew stuff that I�m talking about, and of course I could get better ratings, I�m sure, if I was more edgy, but, you know, hey, I�m getting older now, I�m kinder.

Today we�re going to start a new segment, it�s called, I don�t know how often we�re going to do this, that�s not the name of it, but it�s called The Baza Briefing, okay? So I�m in New England, The Baza Briefing.

I do get a lot of flack for making fun of New Englanders, and they, New Englanders, and probably even some people at church, who knows, I don�t think they like it that I�m busting the chops of the New England people, they bust chops of California people, so I think if you dish it out, you ought to take it.

But I�m firmly and fully committed to the ministry of the gospel here in central Massachusetts, that is New England, that is in New England, and I�ve been here for 23 years, just added on to the house, and I don�t know how long I�ll keep my mind, or how long the church will keep me in their right mind, but I assume I�m going to stay here until I retire, can�t preach anymore.

And so committed to New England, and when I�m in California, I wear New England stuff, Red Sox, Celtics, that stuff, because I�m a contrarian, obviously, that�s why you listen to this show, and when I�m here, I wear, you know, Lakers stuff, or whatever.

So, The Baza Briefing, Baza Briefing, and there�s a book called The Christian Faith by Theodore Baza, and it is a small little book, my particular book is printed by Crawford Edinburgh, and translated by James Clark, and James Clark translated this bestseller, as it were, during the Protestant Reformation.

This was first published in Geneva in 1558, and what it is, it�s a concise explanation of Christianity, a declaration, it�s called by James Clark, of the Christian faith, concise, that is. Anyway, wouldn�t that be good?

It�s almost like a little systematic theology on no-compromise radio. Baza, you might know who Baza is because of his tie, not only with the Protestant Reformation, but also I�m sure, that�s interesting how you say that, he removed to Geneva, where he became colleague and successor to John Calvin, who died in 1564.

In 1565, Baza published his edition of the Greek New Testament with notes. So, on no-compromise radio, we�re going to have something called The Baza Briefing, because I want you to be well-equipped for Christian ministry by understanding Christian doctrine and the Christian faith, in a concise way, a concise declaration.

So, Baza succeeded Calvin, he put this out in 1558, and the most wonderful thing about this, besides its exaltation of the Word of God and the Christ Jesus, is that, speaking of the Word of God, it�s always in, it�s always relevant, I don�t have to dress it up, I can be talking to you about doctrines, talked about it from 1558, and it still is very relevant.

Isn�t that good? You don�t have to make the Bible relevant, we know that at no-compromise radio. So, in this book, and by the way, my particular book has 112 pages. So, that�s kind of nice, because, as you know, I recommend that you do not read or study as your main systematic theology book, Wayne Grudem�s Systematic Theology.

Instead, you should read Lewis Berkoff�s Systematic Theology. That�s who you should be studying, versus Wayne Grudem. This has not many sections. There are seven main sections. The Trinity, God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Holy Spirit, the Church, the Last Judgment, and then a conclusion.

So, if you don�t count the conclusion, you�ve got six main sections, and you could probably easily memorize those. The Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Church, and then the Last Judgment.

So, today on no-compromise radio, we are going to be talking about the Beza briefing. So, I�m going to brief you quickly on Beza by reading him, and then we�re going to talk about it. No, well, I�ll talk about it.

You�ll listen. And that�s the way it works, right? In this social justice, critical race theory, white privilege, woke world that we live in. You know, if you�re a white male, you�re supposed to sit in the back and just shut up and listen, right?

That�s not how we roll around here. Well, you could find other podcasts, I guess, if you�d like. Oh, before I do the Beza briefing, just to get it off my chest, and by the time this airs, it�s probably after the election, after Trump�s landslide win.

I wish. David Platt writes a book on voting. Piper just yesterday released, or two days ago, an article on voting. You�ve got, you know, Tim Keller�s stuff from the past. I don�t think he�s done anything recently, but it�s essentially, in my opinion, how to vote Democrat and still sleep at night if you�re a Christian.

How to vote Democrat, a pro-murder of babies, dissecting babies while they�re alive, but they�ve got other good programs. Anyway, that�s John Piper. That�s David Platt. That�s Gospel Coalition. Is Nine Marks doing it?

I wouldn�t doubt it if they were. Anyway, today though, on No Compromise Radio, I�m not going to talk about that. I�m going to talk about the Beza briefing. Theodore Beza, section number one, the Trinity, and the way he has this set up, it�s perfect for radio, because he has, okay, so it says chapter one, the Trinity, and then it says 1 .1, the unity of God.

1 .2, the Trinity are persons distinct in unity or essence. 1 .3, eternal providence of God. So it�s in nice sections. It�s easy to read, and I would suggest that you get this as a nice addition to your library.

The Christian Faith by Theodore Beza, chapter one, the Trinity, the unity of God, 1 .1. We believe that there is one divine essence whom we call God, not only because the contemplation of the things of nature teaches us that, Romans 1 .20, but much more because the Holy Scriptures testify of it to us, Deuteronomy 4 .30 and Ephesians 4 .6.

Now, I don�t know how I should do this show, quite frankly, because I could either read everything, which isn�t very much, and go back and talk about it, or break it down. There�s three of those sections only in this first chapter on the Trinity.

So, I think I�ll read the next two sections. They are brief, the Beza briefing, and then we�ll talk. 1 .2. The Trinity of Persons Distinct in Unity of Essence. The Word of God teaches us clearly that this divine essence is really, truly, and eternally distinct in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28 .19, 1 John 5 .7.

Who are one God, Acts 17 .23 -28, Deuteronomy 4 .12. Alone, eternal, infinite, truly perfect in himself. These persons are coessential and coeternal, without confusion of properties, in parentheses personal, and relationships.

Thus, by Holy Scripture, the Church condemned Sebelius, Samasata, Arius, Nestorius, Marcian, Eutychus, and all other heretics whose errors we detest earnestly with all our heart. That�s why it�s called No Compromise Radio.

And then the last section for this part of the show today, 1 .3. The Eternal Providence of God. Nothing happens by chance or without a very righteous decree of God, Ephesians 1 .11, Matthew 10 .29, Proverbs 16 .4.

Nevertheless, God is not at all the author of or culpable for any evil which takes place, for his power and his goodness are so incomprehensible that even when, in order to do something, he makes use of the devil or wicked men whom he then justly punishes.

Yet he does not fail to decree, and to do well and righteously his holy work. Acts 2 .23, 4 .27, Romans 9 .19 -20. That is chapter 1 in the Trinity, three sections, the unity of God, the Trinity, of persons distinct in unity of essence, and the eternal providence of God.

The Unity of God and General Revelation

So, No Compromise listeners, did you notice how brief that was? And did you notice it was from Theodore Beza? So, for the rest of the show, we�re going to talk a little bit about this very issue, the triune nature of God.

Now, the first section talks about one divine essence. So, that�s the first thing when you think about the Trinity that we think about. You say to yourself, �There is one God right? And you can go back to Deuteronomy chapter 6.

You can look at Isaiah. You can look at lots of places in the Bible, and you would see that there are not other gods. There�s just one God, right? You might make a god of your own choosing. You should have no gods before me.

That doesn�t mean it�s a real god. We use the small �g� because we make gods out of things that aren�t gods. And here it says, �The unity of God, one divine essence. And we call him God because that is how he shows himself in Scripture.

Of course, there are other names, and there�s the personal name of God. You see all caps �Lord� or �Yahweh� in the Old Testament. It says here, �Not only because the contemplation of things of nature teaches us that and by the way, that�s Romans 1, right?

So, if we look at Romans chapter 1, and we�re not going to look up every verse that�s in here, but we will look up a few. Romans 1 20, it says, �For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.

So they are without excuse. So, nature does teach us about there is a God, there�s a divine being, and you can�t know everything about this God from nature, but you can know some things about his power and his divine nature.

And so you think about how God reveals himself, there�s special revelation we would call that Scripture, and general revelation we�d call that nature, and maybe you want to talk about conscience and other things.

Here it says,. �But much more because the Holy Scriptures testify of it to us. There you go. You have general revelation, and you have the special revelation. How do you know that there�s one divine essence called God?

Well, you know that from nature, and that�s enough to damn you, right? To hold you accountable. But it�s not enough to save you, and that�s why we have special revelation, and we have the prophets, and we have Moses, and we have Jesus, and the apostles, so we can understand specifically about this God, and specifically how we can be forgiven by substitutionary atonement.

You can�t get that from nature. So, that�s the first section, the unity of God. That�s a good place to start, and that�s very brief, and that�s from Bezo. 1 .2, the Trinity of Persons distinct in unity of essence.

The Trinity, Distinct Persons, and Heresies Denying Christ

Whenever you think about the Trinity, you should probably think of three things. Number one, there�s only one God. Number two, three persons, unity of essence, that there are eternally distinct persons, and there are only three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Now, he gives 1 John 5 .7 there. We won�t look at that because of some manuscript issues, and we don�t need that to prove the unity of essence, yet eternally distinct three persons. So, the one that I like to go to, and you ought to go to regularly, if you say, �Oh, is there a verse that teaches the Trinity

Old Testament, we always used to go to Isaiah 48 .16, if memory serves me. In the New Testament, it�s pretty simple. It says here, in the words of Jesus, Matthew 28 .19, �Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name that�s the singular name, right?

That�s the singular divine essence, �in the name of now we have three definite articles, �the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. So, we have eternally distinct persons, right? We have the Eternal Father, the Eternal Son, and the Eternal Holy Spirit.

Jesus doesn�t become the Son in the Incarnation, as some have taught. He is the Eternal Son, who are one God, alone, eternal, infinite, truly perfect in Himself. That�s almost kind of interesting to talk about, because we almost want to make it plural, �in themselves but �in Himself.

So, you�ve got unity of God, then you have eternally distinct persons, and then how do these persons relate? How do we see that? These persons are co-essential, co-eternal, and then He starts saying some things to make sure we�re not going to go heretical, without confusion, right?

They don�t blend into each other, they�re distinct. And then it talks about this condemnation of, number one, the Church condemns Sibelius. Sibelius says, �You know what? One person manifests sometimes as the Father, then as the Son, then as the Holy Spirit.

So, that would deny what we believe about the Trinity that�s the Scripture. So, Sibelian heresy denying three persons, right? So, when Beza says, �Eternally distinct in three persons he�s going against the Sibelian heresy of modalism, right?

That�s what we�re after. And then there�s, he says, �Samosota or �Samosata this third century, and he says Jesus wasn�t by nature God, but God adopted, the Father adopted the Son because the Son perfectly obeyed.

So, that�s wrong. Arius denies Jesus was the eternal God, but He was the, what, first perfect created being, right? Our first created being, only begotten. So, using language of birth versus Praetoticus, language of only begotten, or firstborn, as preeminence.

So, that�s the right way to think about it, preeminence, not He�s actually born. Nestorius, what did he believe? He denies that Jesus remained one person, the God-man. Marcion, he teaches that the God of the Old Testament, of course, was the angry God, and that the New Testament God is somehow different, right?

The Old Testament God would therefore be not as great as the New Testament God. So, that is condemned. And Eutychus, fifth century, denied that Christ, after the incarnation, had two natures, right? He teaches that, or he taught that the human nature, the divine nature, were kind of commingled, and to use the language of the scholars, confused, mixed together, commingled.

And so, what we have to do as Christians, and this is just part of it, as you know, listening to No Compromise Radio, when we�re saying something true about God, or scriptures, or something in scripture, we say what�s true, and then there�s all these errors, and we say, but it�s not that, right?

This is what it is, but it�s not that, it�s not that, it�s not that, because we have to be very precise. We don�t want to have a God after our own choosing that can�t save us. And then it says, nothing happens by chance without the very righteous decree of God.

Isn�t that good? He, right away, Beza, puts up front, close to the very front, this sovereignty of God, and providence, and what God does, and how he orders things, already telling you that this God, let me see if I can find the verse here, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 11, is such a great chapter, but I have this Bible here that I can�t seem to find the page.

I know where Ephesians is. �In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. What a great verse.

�Who works all things according to the counsel of his will. So there�s this God that is righteously decreed everything, and we don�t have to have anything by chance. This God actually rules over all things.

And then you say, well, if he rules over all things, and he�s decreed and purposed, then does that mean he is sinful, he�s evil? No, he�s not the author of, right? We think about secondary causes, we think about other things, but we could never say.

We might not even be able to explain the origin of evil, but we could never say somehow God is evil, God is culpable, God is the one that made people sin. Even here, Bazin knows that people begin to ask questions.

He uses the devil, right? The devil doesn�t do things outside of God�s decreed will. And by the way, the devil is going to be punished, right? Amazing. And if you can�t understand why this is, the ultimate is given with Acts 2 and Acts 4.

And so, if you think, okay, does God ordain sin? That�s the real question. Does God�s plan include sin? And we start using things like, well, he permitted it, and he allowed it, and everything else. And I understand that kind of language is, I think, given mainly to keep God holy and pure.

But the worst sin of all, of course, was killing Jesus, and he never deserved to be killed. He was holy and innocent from everything, from laws and God�s law especially. And then it says to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place, right?

Herod Pontius Pius, the Gentiles in Israel, they were guilty of crucifying Jesus, but God had it planned all along. So, God overrides, ordains, plans, uses the sin of evil men for his plans by a righteous decree.

And that�s chapter 1 of Theodore Beza, the Beza or Bezer briefing. Wasn�t that good? I don�t mean me, but I think that was great. It helps me so much. And you�re like, well, yeah, but I don�t care about the Trinity.

I need marriage help. I know, I know. I don�t care about the Trinity. I like to go to a prophecy conference. Seriously, if there was a conference on the Trinity, would you go? Would you? My name is Mike Abendroth.

This is No Compromise Radio Ministry. Thanks for listening, by the way. If you have friends, I hope you tell your friends, hey, listen to No Compromise Radio Ministry. The guy�s nicer in person, but at least it�s just 24 and a half minutes.

And you know, the good news is it�s free. So, if you�ve got millionaire friends, make sure you tell them. I don�t ask for money, but I ask you to talk to your millionaire friends so that I can ask them for money.

Oh, man. God bless you.

Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God�s Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We�re right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.