As we consider leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA) denomination (called the PCUSA) to join with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church denomination (called the EPC), last week I began preaching through what the EPC calls the “Essentials of Our Faith”. These are statements of faith the EPC believes are non-negotiable. And for the EPC to be a good home for our congregation we have to be in full agreement with each of these statements.
If you’d look in your Bulletins and take out the insert titled, the “Essentials of Our Faith”… Let’s look at #1 together:
“We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To Him be all honor, glory and praise forever! …
[And if you jump down to the very bottom of the page…]
“These Essentials are set forth in greater detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith.”
(The Essentials of Our Faith, #1)
The foundational paragraph we read and preached through last week focused us upon the Scriptures. This week’s “Essential” is about the Trinity.
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity was established in the earliest centuries of the Church. We are monotheists, which mean we don’t believe in a whole bunch of different kinds of gods – each with their own area of sovereignty and authority – no, we believe in one God, Who made the universe, and Who keeps the universe going by His almighty power. The Bible makes that clear. And yet the Bible also makes clear that God has shown Himself to human beings in three distinct ways across history: As a holy, perfect Being, completely separated from humanity – us here on the Earth, Him separated from us in Heaven; ?as the Man, Jesus of Nazareth, born of Mary, but Who claimed and proved Himself to at the same time be the Son of God; and, ?as a Spirit – a holy ghost – Who could come upon someone to give them special power and ability for a time to handle a particular task, and Who could also go within someone to speak God’s words to their hearts, convince them of their sinfulness, bring them to faith in God-the-Son, Jesus, and also to grant them special powers and abilities so they could live according to their faith in Jesus and so they could be comforted and spread that faith to others.
One God Who has shown Himself to human beings across history in three different ways: Tri/3; unity/1; Tri-unity; Trinity – that’s where the word comes from.
Now, before I go any further I want to point you all to the excellent sermon Elder Steve Davis gave on “The Trinity” this past May. There’s a lot of teachings about the Trinity I’m not going to mention here since it would only duplicate Steve’s excellent presentation. (And you can find the sermon on our website, FirstPresbyterianMilford.org, clicking on “sermons” in the left-hand column.)
In trying to help people comprehend the idea of “Trinity: 3 persons, yet all of the same substance” pastors and teachers have talked about water – how water can be solid-ice, liquid-water, and airy-steam, 3 different manifestations and yet all one-and-the-same substance, H2O/water. Likewise people have talked about human beings being heart & mind + physical body + life-giving spirit, 3 different parts and yet all necessary to make up one human being… But, of course, none of these truly shows the Trinity: Since the water comparison makes it seem that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all have very different functions from one another (which isn’t true), and since the human being comparison makes it seem like the persons of the Trinity all get added together to make up God (which isn’t true).
Looking at their distinctness, the Bible shows us:
- The Father to be the One from Whom the Son was begotten (“begotten”, not made), and from Whom the Holy Spirit proceeded. The Father is the only One Who knows when the Last Day, the Day of Judgment, of this Age will be;
- The Son is distinct in that He is the One Who became a man and died for us and rose from the dead. The Church also is His presence on Earth, continuing His work, now that He has ascended to Heaven; and,
- The Holy Spirit is distinct in that He prays with us and within us, He gives specific talents and “fruits” to the people in the Church, and He helps to maintain truth within the Church.
And yet, though distinct, and having revealed God to us in distinct ways, each of the Godhead is fully God. For instance, if you’ll open your Bibles to Philippians 1:2… Paul writes, “May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.” The Father is specifically identified as “God” here. If you’ll turn to Colossians 2:9… The gospel of John begins saying, “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God… The Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” (1:1, 14) Colossians 2:9 summarizes it this way, “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.” So the Son is specifically identified as being “God”, as well. And now to Acts 5:3… We read of the apostle Peter’s rebuke to a member of the Jerusalem church: “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” So Peter charges Ananias with lying to the Holy Spirit, that is, lying to God. So the Holy Spirit is specifically identified as “God”…
Turn to Isaiah 64:8, if you will… The prophet says, “And yet, O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, and You are the potter. We all are formed by Your hand.” So the Father is credited with creating. And yet turn to Colossians 1:15… “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on Earth.” So Jesus the Son is credited with creating. And now turn to Job 33:4… Where Job confesses: “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” So the Holy Spirit is credited with creating.
And one last example, turn to Jeremiah 17:10… Speaking on God’s behalf, Jeremiah says, “But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives.” The Father searches the heart. But turn to The Revelation 2:23… Beginning in the middle of the verse, the Lord Jesus says, “I am the One Who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.” So the Lord Jesus searches the human heart. And 1 Corinthians 2:10 says, “…God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.” So the Holy Spirit searches hearts and reveals deep secrets.
God has shown Himself to humanity through the ministry of three different “persons” – God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit – and yet each “person” is credited with the same activities of God: Creation; searching hearts; all the works of God.
Of course, the Lord Jesus is the Once Who has created most of the stir. God the Father and God the Holy Spirit show themselves across the pages of the Old Testament, and nobody accused God of being “two” there. No, it’s God showing Himself in Jesus Christ that has created such a stir, even causing people to ask: “Then was Jesus talking to Himself every time He prayed?” (Which is really a great question. It’s thoughtful, insightful…) And Paul’s Letter to the Philippians gives us a picture of how this wonderful mystery could happen…
If you’ll go to Philippians 2:5-11… Speaking of the Lord Jesus, Paul writes: “Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The Lord Jesus “gave up His divine privileges” and became a man, an ordinary infant, boy, and man who – to quote Hebrews – “faced all the same testings we do, but did not sin.” (4:15) And during His baptism, when – like a dove settling upon Him – He was baptized by the Holy Spirit, He was at that time empowered by God-the-Holy-Spirit, and only then did He begin His ministry and miracles and works of power…
Let’s go back to the “Essentials of Our Faith” insert… Let’s read #1 together:
“We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To Him be all honor, glory and praise forever!
Amen?