The Trinity: Why Study That?

So I want to be speaking about the Trinity. I believe that as a church we need to be theologically strong. We need to understand what doctrine is. And particularly this doctrine, upon which so much hinges, we need to understand the Trinity. So periodically we'll be doing these sermons on particular doctrines. and for the next, oh, I think five, maybe six weeks, we're going to be talking about the Trinity.

I've always been afraid to do this because it's not like preaching, it's like lecturing. But we'll just trust God and see what happens. If you would, just listen to these words from 2 Corinthians that says this, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Let's pray. Father, now as we begin to understand or begin at least to explore this doctrine of the Trinity, we pray that You would use this in the life of this congregation to strengthen us to stand for the faith, to understand how important this is, to realize, Lord, that this is what you have revealed about yourself.

And whatever you've revealed about yourself is important for us to study. Give us ears to hear now. Give us an ability to understand what this means for us. And help us, Lord, to learn this so that we will be profitable servants of you. Lord, keep us from learning these things just for the sake of learning theology. Cause us to learn these things so that we might worship you and that we might obey you for your glory.

And we'll thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. You can almost hear this dialogue going on as I prepared for this? The Trinity. You're serious. You going to preach on the Trinity You going to preach on theology Yeah I am Must we Tell us what to do Feed us some spiritual food.

Preach from a text. But don't bore us with theology. Well, honestly, I can confess to you it is not my intention to bore you with theology. It's never my intention to bore anybody. But some people might think that theology is boring. Well, I believe that we need to understand this most important of doctrines, the doctrine of the Trinity.

You say, but why? And I would respond, that's a good question. Why should we do this? I think that's a good question. And so this morning, I want us to spend time to, I want to convince you that this study is necessary. Now, before we start answering the question why, we need to understand what we're studying.

So right off, I want to give you a brief definition of the Trinity, okay? A brief definition of the Trinity. Now, it's not mine. It comes from Wayne Grudem, who's a great systematic theologian, but I think it's simple and I think it's clear. Here is that definition that we will be talking about over the next five or six weeks. God eternally exists in three persons.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And each person is fully God, and there is one God. Let me say that again. Some of you are writing it down. God eternally exists as three persons. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And each person is fully God, and there is one God. Now, you notice that that definition has three parts to it. God is three persons. Each person is fully God, and there is one God. Now those words sum up what the Scripture says about the being of God. He is a triune being.

He is three persons yet He is one God Not three gods Three persons yet He is one God There is plurality and unity in the person of God Plurality and unity in the person of God. Now why is it important to believe those things? Is that something that we can just agree to disagree about? is this really necessary? Is it that important? And I want to tell you, yes, it is that important.

And I want to give you four reasons why it's important. Four reasons. The first is that this doctrine is important for your understanding of God. This doctrine is important for your understanding of God. Second reason, this doctrine is important for your worship. Third reason, this doctrine is important for your understanding of creation.

And then lastly, this doctrine is important for your faith and practice. So let's look at those four reasons why it's so important to understand this doctrine. First, this doctrine is important for your understanding of God. Second, if you don't understand the Trinity, you won't understand God. this addresses the central question what is God like in himself what is God like you look at me, you know what I'm like you put it all together, my physical appearance the interactions we have had all those things come into play when you ask what is someone like, well what is God like in himself now God reveals himself throughout the scriptures by his actions If we looked only at his actions, we'd be able to say some things.

When we see him at the Red Sea, parting those waters, we say, God is all-powerful. When we see him judging Sodom and Gomorrah, we say, God is holy and just. When we watch as he destroys Pharaoh's army, we can say, God loves his people. those are all things that we can surmise about God as we look at his actions but none of those reveal his inner being none of them reveal that he is a triune God None of them tell us that he is a God who is plurality and unity But then, and by the way, this is what we're going to find out as we continue in this study.

Jesus comes along. And everything, what do we make of this? Jesus comes along. And now we understand there is a Trinity. Jesus comes and reveals himself as this Jesus reveals himself and then the same Jesus promises and sends the Holy Spirit we begin to see the inner workings of God we see the very being of our God he starts to reveal himself his inner being would God reveal himself to us as the one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit unless this was important for our understanding of Him.

He reveals it, so it must be important. Right? It must be important. It addresses this question, what is God like in Himself? Right? What is God like in Himself?

It's important for understanding God because the independence of God is at stake here. If there is no Trinity, then we don't have an independent God. What do I mean by that? Okay? Turn to Acts 17. Now look, can I tell you something?

Okay, I will. I don't have patience with people oftentimes who say, why do we have to use $50 words? Right? And the answer is, because $50 words explain things better than 25 cent words. And so you may be exposed to things that you don't understand. And what I want you to do is to try and understand.

I will define things for you as best I can, but try to understand these things, okay? You know, when I was in philosophy class, my freshman year in college, I took a philosophy class. And my philosophy professor, Jim Greer, was up there lecturing away, just going on and on, and we're just writing notes furiously. One guy named George raises his hand. He says, George?

He says, Professor Greer, would you please define your terms? Here was his response. You will find in your syllabus a dictionary of philosophical terms listed. Buy it. And then he started lecturing again. Now, I'm not going to do that to you.

But what I am saying to you is, I'm going to try to define these things in ways that we can all understand. But don't be afraid of learning the words. like what does it mean when we say God is independent? The Apostle Paul actually tells us what it means when we say God is independent in Acts chapter 17. Here is Paul. He's preaching on the Areopagus to the people in Athens, to the real intelligent, smart people.

And beginning in verse 24, we're in the middle of his sermon. Remember, he's walking along. He sees all these idols. He sees all these monuments. And then he finds one, to the unknown God. And so he comes to these people and says, I am here to tell you about the unknown God.

And here is one thing that he said about this God in verses 24 and 25. Here is what he says to them. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. Now note, this God is not served by human hands as though He needed anything.

This is the independence of God. That is to say, God needs nothing else other than Himself for His existence. God only needs Himself for His own existence. Now that's not true of any creature. This is the only being in the universe who's actually independent. You are not independent.

You depend on oxygen. You depend on water. You depend on food for your existence. You depend on another human being when you're born to take care of you or you would die. You are not independent. God alone is independent.

God does not need you. He does not need anyone. He does not need anything. He only needs Himself for His existence Well some would then say how could God then love Doesn He need someone to love How could God rejoice Doesn He need someone to find joy in Right Didn't He create, some would assert, because He needs to love? And our response is, He doesn't need us to love.

Why not? because He's a triune God. There are three persons in the Trinity, all of which can love each other, all of which can rejoice in each other. He doesn't need us for those things. God can love and rejoice in Himself as the Father loves and rejoices in the Spirit, as the Son rejoices in the Father and the Spirit, as the Spirit gladly joys, rejoices in serving the Father and the Son.

He doesn't need us to love. He's got Himself. He's an interpersonal being. He needs no one because of the persons in the Trinity. He has people to love. Sorry.

Persons. Not people. Okay? Persons. divine persons to love and to rejoice in. He doesn't need it. If God was not Trinity, then his independence would be at stake.

He would need other things and other people. He doesn't. He has himself. The personal nature of God is at stake. Now what do I mean by personal? Personal means he has the attributes of a person.

That is to say, God is not an impersonal force. I can remember way back in 1977, I was a senior in college. I think it was the summer before my senior year. Star Wars came out. The first one. Well, the third one.

Whatever the number is. The very first one that was ever produced came out. And there we were introduced to what? The Force. May the Force be with you. And some people got all excited and were saying, oh my, look at this.

Isn't this cool? This is a metaphorical representation of God in the movies. No, it's not. Not at all. because God is a person. He's not an impersonal force. He is a person.

And you can't be a person without personal relationships. Okay How could God be personal unless there was someone to relate to A person loves a person creates a person does, those are all attributes of personhood. God would not be personal if he wasn't triune. Alright? Because there are interpersonal relationships within the Trinity. Again, he would need us.

He would need creation for interpersonal relationships. Here's the thing. If God needs us to have personal relationships, then he could never have created us. Okay, now, your brain's probably starting to go woo-woo-woo-woo-woo right now. I want you to think about this. If God needed creation, he couldn't be a person.

You know why? Because creating is a personal attribute. People create things. People devise, think through, and create things. Impersonal things do not, you see. So, he's personal.

So the independence and the personal nature of God is at stake if he is not triune. So this doctrine is important for our understanding of God. I would also say to you, number two, this doctrine is important for your worship. It's important for your worship. Let's look at John chapter 4. This is a key text.

Whenever we want to talk about the worship of God, we need to always, always think of John chapter 4. This is a foundational stone, a key note in the whole issue of worship. John chapter 4, beginning in verse 19. Now remember, he's talking to the woman at the well, and he says to her, go get your husband. She says, well, I don't have a husband. And Jesus says, you're right, because the guy you're living with is not your husband.

So, she tries to change the subject. The woman said to him, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father You worship what you do not know We worship what we know for salvation is from the Jews But the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.

For the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming, he who is called Christ. When he comes, he will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he. All right?

Now note, we worship what we know. And the hour is coming, and it's now here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Right? You need to know certain things to worship in truth. And so he says, God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. If you would worship God in spirit and truth, then you must know truth about God.

Wouldn't you agree? That's what Jesus is saying. If you're not worshiping in truth, that is, if you don't have the right ideas, the right knowledge, then you're not worshiping. God requires worship in spirit and truth. We see Islam marching across the globe with its followers, enthusiastically shouting Allah, Akbar, which means God is great. But let me ask you, do they worship God if they don't believe that he's triune, and Muslims do not?

Are they worshiping the same God? I would suggest to you they are not worshiping the same God. They're worshiping a God of their imaginations, not the God who's revealed himself in Christ, in the scriptures. You can go to Yellow Springs, Ohio, and find the Universalist Unitarian Church, south on 68. Now, do you know why they're called Unitarians? You ever seen Unitarian churches?

You know what a Unitarian church is? They're putting out there in the boldest letters they can, we don't believe in the Trinity. That's why they're called Unitarians. Okay? You'll see their worship services listed on the church sign, but the question is, do they worship in those services? I would suggest they do not because they are not worshiping in truth.

They're not worshiping the true God who's revealed Himself as triune in the Scripture. And they make it clear. We don't believe in the Trinity. Go to the synagogue in Marian. There's a question for you. Does God accept the worship of Jewish people who deny that God has revealed himself in Christ and who has sent the Holy Spirit?

I would suggest to you he does not accept that worship because it is not worship in truth, you see. We must worship in truth. God must be worshipped in truth, and he has revealed the truth of a Trinitarian being. If we're going to worship God in truth, if we're going to worship in an acceptable way, we must believe in the Trinity. Otherwise, we're not worshiping in truth.

The doctrine of the Trinity ought to make you worship God in wonder. It ought to cause you to just marvel at the very being of God. This God who is one, yet three. You should marvel at the unity of the triune God. His unity ought to cause you to fall down in adoration. Bruce Ware, theologian at Southern Baptist Seminary, wrote these words.

The three persons are never in conflict of purpose, never jealous over another's position or specific work, never prideful over one's own position or work, and they are always sharing fully the delight in being the one God and accomplishing the unified purpose of God. Here is a unity of differentiation where love abounds and where neither jealousy nor pride is known. Each divine person accepts his role, each in proper relation to the others, and each works together with the others for one unified common purpose.

Isn't that amazing to think of a being who is never in conflict? Three persons, one being, none of those persons ever in conflict, always working together. This is the unity of God. Isn't that amazing? And yet, you should marvel at the diversity of this triune God. Not only worship Him because of His unity, but worship Him because of His diversity.

Each person of the Trinity has distinctive roles and distinctive tasks to do. And again, in the weeks that follow, we're going to see how each one has his own particular task. He fully God and yet has his own particular task to do his own role to serve And each person in those distinctive roles and tasks accomplishes that common plan Diversity speaks of the richness of God, but never allows that diversity to lead to discord.

All the while, they carry out this work in complete harmony of activity and unity of purpose. the diversity of God and the unity of God ought to cause us to marvel consider Psalm 145 verses 1-3 Psalm 145 verses 1-3 here is a statement in which the psalmist is worshipping God he says I will extol you my God and King and bless your name forever and ever every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable. Now there is something about God that we all must understand.

He is incomprehensible. So this doctrine should make you bow in awe and adoration to an incomprehensible God. Now when I say he's incomprehensible, I'm not saying that you cannot understand God. Yes, God reveals Himself in such a way we can understand God. But He's incomprehensible in this way. We'll never fully understand God.

We will never know God exhaustively. Right? We will never know Him completely. In that sense, He's incomprehensible. We will never be able to fit God into a box. We'll be able to say true things about Him.

He's revealed those things. We can comprehend those things. But to actually say we have the ability to absolutely understand all of God, we cannot. In that sense, He is incomprehensible. And the Trinity gives us a being that is incomprehensible. How can a being be one yet many?

How can there be unity and plurality in the same person? Right? that's incomprehensible. I'll never understand it. And neither will you. And we've tried. Over the centuries, we've tried all these illustrations about how to illustrate the Trinity and none of them quite do it Because there no way we can cross that line from creature to creator and be able to absolutely fully comprehend what there I love what J.I.

Packer once said, the mystery of the Trinity is unfathomable. We cannot explain it. We can only formulate it. We can't explain it. We can formulate it. God is one.

Three persons in one. Can we understand that? Not fully. It's an unfathomable mystery. We can't explain it, but we can formulate it. And so I would say to you, the doctrine of the Trinity is important for your worship.

It is important for your worship. Third reason. This doctrine is important for your understanding of creation. I would suggest to you that without the Trinity, we will not understand creation rightly. Why do I say that? consider Isaiah 6 3 just this statement you remember Isaiah 6 Isaiah has a has a vision if you want to turn there Isaiah chapter 6 verse 3 Isaiah has a vision he sees the Lord high and lifted up he is overcome with the absolute holiness of God and he says I'm an unclean man right and as he looks and he sees this vision he sees these three or these two angels saying this I'm singing this song, and here's what the song is.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The earth is full of His glory. The earth is full of the glory of the Lord. That is to say, the earth in some way reflects the glory of God. In some way, everything that we look at points us to God. The earth is full of His glory.

Another psalm, Psalm 19, verses 1-3. The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor are there words whose voice is not heard. Creation shouts of the glory of God. If all of creation reflects the glory of God, you would think it would reflect the glory of a triune being, wouldn't you?

And I would say that exactly what the world does The universe is characterized by plurality and unity The plurality and the unity of creation reflects the glory of the Trinity. The world is composed of plurality and unity. Creation makes sense if we understand God's plurality and unity. It begins to make sense then Okay? For a moment here. Okay, for a moment.

Let's do this exercise. For a moment, I want you to imagine a tree. Okay? Is it in your head? You thinking of a tree? All right.

You may see a maple tree. The person next to you may have in his mind an oak tree. The person across the aisle may have a sycamore tree in his head. Now, isn't that interesting? I can say tree. You all have an idea.

And yet, we have different trees in our heads, don't we? There's plurality and unity. There's that unifying concept of tree. And yet, there's maple trees, sycamore trees, oak trees, right? And then oak trees. White oak, red oak, swamp oak, live oak.

We could go on and on, couldn't we? Do you see that? Plurality and unity. Now look at that one tree. Look at that one tree. You have leaves, branches, bark, roots, all of it making one living organism.

The whole universe is plurality and unity. And the reason why it's that way is because that's the way God is. And creation reflects the glory of this triune God. But that's not even all of it. Humanity makes sense if we understand God as a triune being. Again, look back at Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis chapter 1. Now note this. Then God said, verse 26, Let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth so God, now note, this is important so God created man in his own In the image of God, He created him.

Male and female, He created them. Now, humanity makes sense if we understand God's plurality and unity. Humanity is not composed merely of isolated individuals. Humanity is composed of both male and female. Now, we like to say that individuals are made in the image of God, and that is true. But I would suggest to you that the image of God is reflected in all of humanity because there are two genders.

Right? Which one is more human than the other? Neither. But humanity would not be complete without two genders. Just as God Himself would not be God unless there were three persons making one. Humanity is made of male and female.

These genders. Individual persons of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit form the divine being. And that image of the divine being is reflected in the gender of human beings. You see? Humanity reflects God because it would not be complete without these genders. But, boy, can you see what this says about the whole transgender debate that's going on?

You know what this says? It says that gender... Okay, here's what we're being told. Gender is a social construct. It's not a biological reality. Not anybody can say that's beyond me, but everyone's buying into this now.

Social construct, that is, what we're saying is, you're male because we have constructed that in our thinking, that there's male and female. You may look male, but if you want to be female, you can be female. Why? Because it's nothing more than a social construct. Everyone else says you're male, but you feel female. Don't let everybody tell you what to do.

That's just a construct they're putting on you. You determine what you want to be. Well, if what I'm saying is true, then gender is not a social construct, but the very reflection of God. It's the very reflection of God. As the Father can't choose to be the Son, and the Spirit can't choose to be the Son, and the Son can't choose to be either one of those, they have their distinctive roles, and so it is in humanity.

Reflecting God, we have two genders. That's given, it's established. You don have humanity without those genders And so to deny gender is to deny both humanity and deity It denies both Now, no one's going to listen to us. We still need to say it. But doesn't it say something about the depths of human rebellion that the very thing that reflects the glory of God in the created universe, humanity made of two genders.

That man is so rebellious that he even wants to do away with that. He's denying the God who made him and her by those words and by that action. That is nothing short. It's not foolishness. Well, it is that. It's not just stupidity.

It is that. But it's downright, absolute, shaking your fist at God when you say gender is a social construct. I can choose to be whatever gender I want. That is absolute rebellion against God if we reflect His being in our genders. Look at chapter 2, verse 24. Relationships make sense if we understand God's plurality and God's unity.

Genesis 2, 24. Therefore man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. You see what that's saying? Here's the unity of two persons in marriage. Persons who remain distinct individuals, yet who also become one in spirit, in mind, and body. They become one.

Here is a picture again of the Trinity. More to the point. Have you noticed that none of us were created to live as single beings? I don't mean single as unmarried. What I mean is as individual beings without relation to any other human being. Have you noticed that that's not the way we're made?

That we desire people. We want friends, right? We are social people. We form communities. We do all these things. Why is that Because God is a social being right There the community of the Trinity There the family of the Trinity.

All of that is reflected in the Trinity. Why is it that we are social creatures? Because we're made in the image of God who is a social creature. Who is a social being? Pardon me. Oh my goodness.

God is not a social creature. Pardon me. He's a social being. About three weeks ago I was listening to a program on NPR, National Public Radio. They were talking about the cure of diseases. It was a show about the cure of diseases.

And this one doctor was talking about the fact that part of the cure that's necessary is that there be people involved in your life in an intimate way. You've got these intimate social relationships. And he says that's a key to helping people overcome this particular disease. And he said something like this that just blew me away. He says there is this, I'm not exactly quoting him, but the words to this effect, there is this insatiable desire that cannot be suppressed within us for social contact.

Now, why is that? Simple. You're made in the image of God. And God is a social being. And you have this irrepressible, insatiable desire for social interaction because you're reflecting the triune God. See, humanity reflects that.

So you see, this doctrine is important for your understanding of creation. We do not understand creation effectively if we get rid of the Trinity. Okay, the last reason why I think this is important. This doctrine is important for your faith and practice. It's important for your faith. Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11 we find this well-worn always quoted definition of faith now faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen for by it the people of old received their commendation By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Now, what's the nature of faith? He describes it, the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. he's not saying you have a dream and you have faith that God will come through for you.

That's not faith. Because when you read the rest of the chapter, in each individual case, it talks about people who had not seen something, but what? God told them it was coming. For example, he talks about Noah. Noah, who had never seen a flood, knew there was a flood coming. Why?

Because he took a survey and found out people who saw floods in other places of the world? No. He believed it. He was convinced of it because God said so. Alright? The nature of faith is not this blind leap into the dark.

The nature of faith is taking God at His word. Believing what God says, even if you've not seen it, even if it's not here yet, you believe it because God has said it. And the basis of that belief is God. Alright? Alright? And so, we must submit.

We must submit our reason to revelation. We must submit our reason to revelation. Now, that does not mean that faith is unthinking. Please don't misunderstand me here. I hate it. I absolutely hate it when people say, well, you just got to take it by faith.

Now there's an element of truth in that. But a lot of times they say that because someone's given them lots of arguments that they can't answer. And they say, well, I'll just have to take it by faith. Yeah, only if God says it's the case. Your faith is not an unthinking faith. But it is a faith that submits its reason to the revelation of God.

Listen, man in his reason would never conceive of the Trinity. Would you agree? In fact, man in his reason says, as the Unitarians do, that doesn't make sense. It must not be true. Because it doesn't make sense to my reason. To which I say, your reason now must submit to Revelation.

This tests our faith. Because we're believing in something that we cannot comprehend, that we cannot fully explain, that does not meet the canons of reason. And yet it is true because God says it. And our reason must submit to a revelation. Our faith is tested in the belief in the Trinity. I would also say the doctrine of the Trinity is necessary for the Christian faith.

We live in a world that says all faiths are the same. They're all true. Right? That's true for you, that's true for you, that's true for you. they're all on the same plane. To which I say, what other religion teaches about the Trinity? None.

This is the thing that distinguishes us and this is the thing that makes us say, no, your view of God is wrong. Dare you say that today? Your view of God is wrong. He is not like that. Boy, you say that today and you're going to be labeled as intolerant. But if you believe in the Trinity, you have to say that.

And it's the very foundation of our faith. It sets us apart from all other religions. There's no other religion that says that. And the last thing I would say to you is this. The doctrine of the Trinity is necessary for the Gospel. If you jettison the Trinity you will lose the Gospel Or you end up with a different Gospel Do you remember what Paul said in Galatians chapter 1?

Verse 8, But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a Gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be accursed. as we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. Now, let him be accursed is another word of saying, let him be damned. Right?

Now that's how important the gospel is. And if you get rid of the Trinity, you eventually get rid of the gospel. The gospel will be lost. The good news of salvation and reconciliation to God will be lost if you do not believe in the Trinity. The Trinity is the very heart of the Gospel. If Jesus is only a man, what happens to His death on the cross?

Does it become an atonement? If Jesus is only a man, His death could not be an atonement. How could the death of one man save the world? it impossible isn it the atonement is gone without the Spirit could anyone obey God Could anyone understand God without the Spirit The answer is no. Because as the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians, the Spirit knows the very depths of God.

And so He can teach you. Without the Spirit, we're lost. You see, the Father plans our redemption. The Son secures it. The Spirit applies it. All are necessary.

All as one God. All three persons of the Trinity. And you will notice that whenever anyone gets rid of the Trinity, the gospel of grace is gone. How many Mormons do you know say, yes, Jesus is the Savior. Put your faith in Him and you will be saved. Do they say that?

No. You have to work for it. Jehovah's Witnesses, same thing. You have to work for it. When you jettison the Trinity, you lose the gospel of grace. That is the inevitable outcome.

You lose the gospel of grace. Either you end up here, you've got to work your way to heaven, or like the Unitarians, you end up over here saying, what does it matter? There's no such thing as sin. Okay? Either way, you lose the gospel. that is why the Trinity is so important to us well my prayer my prayer is that you will not be bored by theology You may be bored with me but I hope that theology never bores you.

And when it comes to the theology of the Trinity we need to understand the very central importance of that. For again I suggest and not suggest, I would say that without the Trinity we end up with no gospel or a different one. And without the Trinity there is no hope. And so as we pursue this study I want you to see this is not something that's just a matter for theologians to debate when they got free time.

This is something that's central to our hearts, to our lives, to our faith. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word today. and as we do this, Father, I pray that you would guide our thinking and help us to understand these things. Would you please, Father, work in our hearts. Give us minds that are eager to learn these truths. Give us hearts eager to obey and to live in light of those truths.

God, glorify yourself as we study you. In Jesus' name. Amen.