Equally, Eternally, Simultaneously, and Fully

Take your Bibles this morning and turn to Ephesians chapter 4, a passage that hints at, that assumes our God as a triune God. Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1 through 7. I therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Let's pray. Father we look to you now to help us this is our worship to you that we submit to your word that we seek to understand it that we seek to live in accordance with it this is our worship and we come to you now in worship to hear you speak Lord as we think of doctrine this morning as we think of truth that is the systematic understanding of what you have revealed we pray that how we have organized this would be correct by your word help us Lord to have minds that will think of your revelation and then think of it in terms of how we ought to live and how we ought to understand.

So God, we're thinking now as we look into your word. In Jesus' name, amen. Have you ever tried to figure out the Trinity I know as kids if you grew up in a Christian home you hear the Trinity and you be thinking of it And you try to put it together in your mind You'd come up with your own theories of how to explain this three in oneness that is our God.

People have always tried to explain it. They've come up with different explanations. Some say God is one God who manifests or reveals himself in three different forms. Sometimes he appears as the Son, sometimes he appears as the Father, sometimes he appears as the Spirit. Others say each person of the Trinity is partly God, and the three together are one God.

Still others surmise that God is one with a part of him having the attribute of being a father, and part having the attribute of a son, and another part of him having the attribute of spirit. Well, let's try to put things together today, shall we? First of all, we need to remember our definition of the Trinity. God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God.

Now, just a little bit of a footnote here. This is a summation of what the Bible teaches. When we talk about our theology, what we're talking about is saying, here's what the Bible teaches in many places, and we systematically put it in a form that summarizes it all. And so when we talk about the Trinity, as we look at the Bible, as we gather the information from the Bible, we put it together, and we come up with this summary statement, God eternally exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God.

Notice again that the definition has three parts to it. God is three person. Each person is fully God. There is one God. Now last week we saw that one God exists. Well, two weeks ago we saw that one God exists.

There is no other. From the Old Testament we read, for example, from Isaiah chapter 45, I am the Lord and there is no other. Besides me there is no God. I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none besides me. I am the Lord and there is no other Very clear there We saw that the New Testament affirms that In one place for example in the book of James we read you believe that God is one You do well Even the demons believe and shudder.

So the New Testament affirms what the Old Testament says, that God is one. we saw two weeks ago if you remember that God is generically one and that he is numerically one he is generically one and that he is the only being in all the universe who possesses his nature he's unique in that no other being possesses that nature in that sense he's generically one that then makes him numerically one which is to say he is the only one then there is no other So, if the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God, not three, then how do we put it all together? How do we put that all together? How should we understand this three-in-oneness?

How does the Bible describe that? Well, we'll attempt to do that this morning. But first, as we come to this, we need to beware of wrong understandings of this three-in-one. We need to beware of wrong understandings. Does the Bible teach, for example, that God is one God who manifests or reveals himself in three different forms? Let me say that again.

Some say that God is one God who manifests himself or who reveals himself in three different forms. Some assert God sometimes appears as the sun. Sometimes he appears as the spirit. sometimes he appears as the father at various times people have taught that god is not really three distinct persons they say he is one god he is one person who appears to people in different modes at different times or they see god from three different angles if you will For example, some have said this, in the Old Testament, God appears as Father.

In the Gospels, in the human life and ministry of Jesus, God appears as Son. After Pentecost God then appears as the Spirit active in the church And so it looks something like this that we have three different angles on this one person sometimes he he reveals himself as the father sometimes the son sometimes the holy spirit all right but we have to assert that that cannot be if you read your bibles correctly that cannot be if you read the scriptures correctly now for example the new testament reading from today. Ryan read from Matthew chapter 3.

Clearly, that's the story of the baptism of Jesus. And as you read that, you see that it's not possible in that one little story, that one little narrative of what happened to Jesus, it is not possible to be able to say that God appears in three different forms. It's not possible. Why? Because when you read that text, what do you see? You see Jesus is baptized, right?

You see the Spirit descending, and you hear the Father speaking from heaven. All three separately in the same place or in the same time. All three persons of the Godhead are there. it denies what's going on then in Matthew chapter 3 you see it's not possible in that scene look if you will at Matthew chapter 26 turn over to Matthew 26 this is Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane before he's hauled off to stand trial Let's remember as he's praying, he brings the three disciples with him and they fall asleep and he falls down on the ground.

He's in agony as he prays. And he says in verses 38 and 39, Then he said to them, his disciples, my soul is very sorrowful even to death. Remain here and watch with me. And going a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will, but as you will. Who is Jesus praying to here?

He's praying to his Father to say that God shows himself in three different forms. This nonsense, this is crazy. Who is Jesus praying to, himself? No, he's praying to his Father. And notice, when Jesus is on the cross, who does he cry out to? He cries out to his Father.

And in John, the Gospel of John, before he goes to the cross, he starts telling them about what? That he is going to send. He will send something other than him, right? Another counselor, one different from him, the Holy Spirit. So it's not possible to say that God is one person who reveals himself in three different forms. Turn over to Romans chapter 8.

Romans chapter 8. Watch in verses 26 and 27. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought. But the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Now, he's interceding. That is, the Spirit stands between us and someone else. Who is that someone else? It's God. It's God the Father. How could the Spirit stand between us and God if he's the same person?

Right? And then, of course, you drop down to verse 34, and the Apostle Paul makes this point, who is to condemn Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised, who is at the what? Right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. So here you have Jesus distinguished from someone where he's sitting at the right hand, and he's interceding as well as the Spirit.

All right? And so this would just be nonsense if God was just one person who reveals himself in three different forms. It's not possible to say that, given what the Bible said. Well, you say, so what's the big deal? What is the big deal here then? I don't understand.

So some people don't believe like we do. What's the big deal? Well, for one thing, it tears the heart out of the atonement. It tears the heart out of Jesus dying for us. Because Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice I read it today in the gospel What As an atoning sacrifice for sins An atoning sacrifice to whom To whom To his father right To turn away his father's wrath, to turn away someone's wrath.

It tears the heart out of the atonement because now we don't have a father who sent his son as a substitutionary sacrifice, who bore the wrath of God in our place, and that the father was satisfied with that, you see. We have that no longer. It tears the heart out of salvation. It destroys the idea of the independence of God. If God is merely one person, then he had to create.

Why? Because God could not communicate. God could not love. Right? God could not speak to anyone God could not love until he created. He must create for him to be that kind of a being.

But if he's the Trinitarian God, what's happening? There's love. There's communication. All of that happens in the Godhead as the three persons relate to one another. And so without this, it destroys the independence of God. Some would say, some would ask, is each person partly God so that when you put all three together, they form one God?

Well, think of it this way, if that seems like a hard concept. Think of it this way. For example, does the Father possess attributes like sovereignty, wisdom, omnipotence, omniscience, wrath, and immutability? And then does the Son possess attributes like mercy, love, grace, righteousness, and goodness? and does the Holy Spirit also then also possess attributes like omnipresence holiness peace and truthfulness and so that when you put all of them together each one with their their particular attribute you put them all together now now you have the God who's all of these attributes are these things is that what we're saying or maybe the father is not completely divine without the Son and the Spirit.

And the Son is not completely God without the Spirit and the Father. And the Spirit is not completely divine without the Father and the Son. Is that what we're saying? No, we can't be saying that. Not if we're reading our Bibles correctly. God's being is not divided into three equal parts belonging to the three members of the Trinity.

It's not like each one is one-third God. Alright? It can be that way Why not Well let look at our Bibles Look at John chapter 1 John chapter 1 Now look, you see, you know what we're doing here this morning. See, you do it, you do this even if you don't recognize it. All of us are theologians who gather all of what the Bible says and puts it in summary statements.

You do this all the time. When you say God is love, you're looking all across the Bible and picking out all the places where you think it is, and you look at them all, and you put it into a summary statement. You all do systematic theology. We all do. We're all theologians. The question is never whether you're going to be a theologian.

Everyone is a theologian. The question always is what? Will you be a good theologian or a bad theologian? I want you to be good theologians, okay? So here we are. We're looking at what the Bible says to see if this is right.

I look at John chapter 1, verses 1 through 3. In the beginning, we're very familiar with 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. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. Here we see, here we read of a distinction between this thing called the Word and God. and yet we also see that the word is equal with God later on John will identify this word as this person Jesus so it's Jesus just he's distinct but yet he is equal with God he is God not partly God he is God all right he's distinguishable in terms of a person in terms of what he is he's the same he's God Acts chapter 5 next book over Acts chapter 5 the story of Ananias and Sapphira they are disciplined by God not because they didn't give up their money they're disciplined by God because they lied they were trying to make an impression on everybody and in the process of confronting them.

The Apostle Peter says this in verses 3 and 4. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land While it remained unsold did it not remain your own And after it was sold was it not at your disposal Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.

Now notice that parallel. You've lied to the Holy Spirit, then he says you've lied to God. It seems that Peter is equating the spirit and God you've lied to the spirit which means you've lied to God now someone might argue no he's saying he lied to the Holy Spirit and he lied to God well that doesn't that doesn't help any in this sense so what you're saying is you have to give the same honor to the Holy Spirit that you give to God the Father you see even if you're going to say Peter's not saying the Holy Spirit is God.

He is saying, if you've lied to the Holy Spirit, you deserve to die because you have dishonored. You have to give the same amount of honor to the Holy Spirit. So either way, the Holy Spirit is God. You see? You lied to the Holy Spirit. You have lied to God.

Wayne Grudem then puts it this way. Here's a summary statement. I think it's a good one. The Son is not partly God or just one third God, but the Son is holy and fully God. And so is the Father and the Holy Spirit. In other words, he's saying each is holy and fully God.

They're not less God than the other people, the other persons. They're fully God. God the Father is fully God. He's not kind of a, not a half deity, what would you call him? A third deity, right? A one-third deity.

He's completely divine, as is the Father and as is the Son. Now there's one of the church fathers named Athanasius. And there was a point in my life where I wanted to name one of my children Athanasius. But wiser heads prevailed. Athanasius is one of the heroes of the faith, for he is one of the stalwarts who said, this is what the Bible teaches. And I want to show you part of the Athanasian Creed because I think it says it really well.

That's why it's still around. It says it really well. This is what Athanasius said. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one. The glory equal. the majesty co-eternal. See what he's saying?

The glory is equal for all of them. You don't divide up the glory. One-third glory, one-third glory. Each one deserves glory. Each one has the glory of divinity. Each and the majesty is co-eternal.

That is to say, all of them were majestic from eternity past. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated, the Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible, the Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.

That's just a little tiny part of the Athanasian Creed, but I think you get the understanding. All of this says is that each person of the Trinity, each one possesses all the attributes of deity. Okay? Each one is God, fully and wholly God. One is not kind of God, and the other's kind of God, and the other's kind of God, and you put them together and they make God.

It's that each one is fully God. Again, is this such a big deal? Well, certainly it is. What would he do with Jesus when he says this? If you don't honor me, then you do not honor my father well what does that mean i mean in that context in a jewish context to say i deserve the same honor that you give god if he wasn't god what would that be that would be blasphemy that would be idolatry right but when jesus says if you don't honor me you don't honor my father i deserve that if he when he says father show them the glory the glory that i shared with you the same glory that the father had to say then to say that is to say if you reject jesus then you're rejecting god there's no way around that what do you do with jesus if you don't if you don't respond to jesus in the right way you are dishonoring god for he is god He is as fully God as His Father.

Holy Spirit is as fully God as the Father and the Son. Alright? And if you don worship the Triune God then you do not worship God It is a big deal Each one of the Trinity is fully God and deserves your worship Some would say, does the one being of God has an attribute, if you want to put it that way, has an attribute of fatherhood, an attribute of sonship, and an attribute of spirit.

So it's kind of like this. The personal distinction of the Trinity are not something, or they're saying it's something added onto God's real being. Okay? This again has the same problem as the last view. Each person of the Trinity, in this view, does not possess the same divine attributes as the others. You're adding, okay?

The son possesses the attributes of deity plus the nature of a son that the other two do not possess. So you see, the problem is here, you're adding the nature of a son and and that can't be because they have to have one nature each person of the trinity has all the attributes of god and no one person has any attributes that are not possessed by the others you have to ask the question then is the father greater than the son how can that be if they're if they are fully god the persons of the trinity now again are no longer equal in glory and majesty. That cannot be if you're reading your Bibles correctly.

Well, how do you fit it all together then? What are we supposed to think? How can you have each person equal in power and glory and majesty and yet still have three distinct persons? How can they all be equal in glory, power, majesty, all their attributes are all equal in those attributes how then can you have three distinct persons and i think this is where again we need to embrace a proper understanding of the three in one and here is what we have to see we have to see that god is one in essence but three in person one in essence but three in person In other words, we're looking at God in different respects or different senses.

If we look at him in terms of his essence, he's one. If you look at him in terms of person, he's three. He one and he three His essence is undivided That is the essence is what Divinity Deity There's one essence. It's the essence of deity. All the attributes that make God, God are all of theirs. And yet he's three in person. he is one in essence so that the essence of god his divinity his deity is possessed fully by each member of the trinity each member of the trinity possesses fully this essence of divinity okay he is three in person so the father is not the son in the spirit the son is not the father and the Spirit.

And the Spirit is not the Father and the Son. They're distinguishable. They are three persons. All right? So we might put it this way. In his essence, each member of the Godhead is identical.

Right? Identical. What? God. They're identical. In person, each is distinct.

Their essence, deity, okay, their essence, deity, is identical. Their persons are distinct. Now, as some of the old theologians has put it, you must not confound the persons nor divide the substance. Don't put persons together. They're separate. Don't divide the essence.

That's one. One essence, three persons. And so God should be seen as three distinct persons, but each possessing deity. Okay? Okay? Three in one.

In His essence, in His substance, God is deity. Alright Here is a summary statement from a theologian by the name of Bruce Ware Bruce Ware is a theologian at Southern and he sums it up this way the doctrine of the Trinity okay yeah okay I fine All the persons of the Trinity are equally divine that what we saying So, in his essence, he's won. All the persons of the Trinity are equally divine.

Here's what Bruce Ware says. The doctrine of the Trinity affirms that God's whole and undivided essence belongs equally, eternally, simultaneously, and fully to each of the three distinct persons of the Godhead. All right? So his undivided essence belongs equally. Each person possesses the nature or essence of the divine being. The Son is as much God as the Father and the Spirit.

The Father is as much God as the Son and the Spirit. The Spirit is as much God as the Son and the Father. Each is as much God as the other. They're all God, eternally. They've always been God, so that none of the persons are created. Right?

The Son was not. And some, maybe some of you have never heard of Arianism. It's a heresy that said God the Father, the highest created being is Jesus. He's not God. He's a created being. Well, that was Arius from the 4th century, from the 300s.

You've never heard of Arius, but you've heard of Arianism. Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons are great examples of Arians. Right? So what we're saying is, for example, the Son. The Son is eternally God. He's always been God.

The Holy Spirit has always been God. They are simultaneously God. God does not appear as Father and then Son and then Spirit. They're simultaneously God and fully. Each is fully God. They are not each one-third God.

Each is fully God. All right. So that's his essence. And yet, as in persons, this one God is three persons. All right. In person, each is distinct.

Indistinguishable God. But they are distinct in person, okay? They do not differ in essence. They do not differ in attributes. They are the same, and yet they are different in person. Now, how are we supposed to understand this?

And I think this is very important. The only difference between them is the way that they relate to one another and to creation. it is not that they have this nature of a son it is that they have the function of a son they're all god but each has his own function this is where they're distinguished in the way they relate to one another and to creation the unique quality of the father is the way he relates as father to the son in the spirit the unique quality of the son is the way he relates as a son. The unique quality of the spirit is the way he relates as spirit.

So they have different functions And so when you want to understand the Trinity this is the best little phrase that has helped me the most It says this equality of essence all are God difference in function Right The Son function as Son, the Father functions as Father, the Spirit functions as Spirit. Each has his own particular functions in relation to one another in the Trinity and in relation to the creation. Each has their particular functions.

And so when we look at our salvation, right? The Father did not die for our sins. That wasn't his function, right? The Father is the one who sent the Son. The Father is the one who sent the Son. The Son is the one who died and purchased our salvation.

And the Spirit functions as the one who applies that to us. Okay? So each one has his functions. All are equally God. Function does not mean less than. Function means different than.

All equally God but each one serving a particular function And so one God There only one God in three persons So what does this mean for us as we come to this table of communion? Well, at the very least, it means that Jesus is God, equal in essence with the Father and with the Spirit. It is God with whom we have fellowship then at this table. it is God who arrives here to fellowship with us and yet this Jesus served a different function than the other two he came to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin the son came in the power of the spirit to offer himself as an atonement to the father you see all of the persons of the Trinity involved.

All of them, all of them necessary for us to come to this table this morning. The entire Trinity was and is involved in your salvation So let come to this table truly thanking our triune God for his gracious work in saving a people for himself Let pray Father thank you for your word Thank you for a word that teaches us these things. Thank you for the fact that you've revealed yourself to us so that we can see this.

We can formulate it. We'll never understand it completely. But because of your triunity, we are here. We are here to worship you because of what the Son has done. Through the power of the Spirit offering to you this sacrifice. Because of that, we can come in worship.

We can come in joy. We can come in boldness before you. As we come to this table. Thank you for your word. Help us, Lord, to be those kind of your children. your children, the ones who seek to understand you, so that we know truly our God. We come to this table now rejoicing for all that you have done for us.

In Jesus' name, Amen.