2002-08-10 - The Triune Nature of God

Encore from 1997-08-16

The evidence of the existence of a Supreme Being is overwhelming. A person must close his eyes and ears, and also refuse to receive evidence, in order to deny the existence of a supreme intelligent being who is controlling all things and directing them toward a great consummation.We would all or should all desire to know more of Him and His plans. The scriptures give clear evidence that God exists in three divine personalities.

Isaiah 48 :12-16 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, My called. I am He; I am the First; I also am the Last. Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: When I call unto them, they stand up together. All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him. I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. Come ye near unto me, hear ye this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning. From the time that it was, there am I, and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.

No one but God could speak such things. In Verse Sixteen, we see the One who is called the Lord Jehovah. He has sent the creator of the universe and also the Spirit.

Three divine personalities are mentioned.

Isaiah 63:8-10 For He said, "surely they are my people, children that will not lie. So he was their Saviour. In all their affliction, He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them. In His love and in his pity He redeemed them, and He bare them and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed His holy Spirit. Therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and He fought against them.  We see Jehovah, to whom the people of Israel belonged, also "the angel of his presence," who is no other than the Holy Spirit and Jehovah himself, who delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage.

Matthew 3:13-17 (also found in Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 3 :21 & 22) Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" And Jesus answering said unto him, "suffer it to be so now. For thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water. And, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased."

At the baptism of Jesus three divine personalities were present. Israel's great confession, Deut. 6:4 literally translated is, "Hear O Israel, Jehovah our Gods is Jehovah a unity." There are scholars who trace this sacred name of God "the Eternal one," back to the root word which means, "to become or to be." This literally means "He causes to become or to come into existence..The idea behind this explanation is that the God of Israel, who Moses presented to the Hebrews, was and is the One who called all creation into existence. The principle of subordination of the persons of the trinity is clearly expressed in the redemptive process, as is also dealings of God with the world. A Father is first, the son is second and the Spirit is third. Whatever the Father does, He does through the Son by the Spirit.

Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. For there is no difference.

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

I Thess. 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. The Son is sent by the father and does the father's will - The Spirit is sent by the Son and does not speak by himself, but only takes of Christ's and shows it unto His people.

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send Him unto you. The Lord Himself stated that One who is sent is not greater than He who sent Him.

John 13:16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. The Lord also stated "My Father is greater than I."

John 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, "I go away, and come again unto you." If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, "I go unto the Father. For my Father is greater than I."

How can one of the personalities of the trinity be subordinate to either one of the others and still be "three in one?" We cannot fully understand the trinity of God, so we therefore accept the Bible as the word of God, and believe in the existence of One Supreme Being, Who exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The reasonableness of the scriptural teaching regarding the trinity, may be seen by the following facts: The amoeba is a one-celled animal, and is the smallest form of life. Man, on the other hand, is the highest type of creature on this earth. In all respects, man is very complex in comparison to the amoeba. Between the two extremes, there is an ascending scale of creatures, each a little higher on the ladder of existence than those below. It is utterly impossible for the amoeba to understand even the simplest things about men, even if it had intelligence to have a single thought.

Man can look down and see the various forms of creatures below him, and also he can look up the ladder, by faith, and see the eternal God on the very top, infinitely above Him. His mind staggers with amazement in contemplation of him. Man comes to the conclusion that his finite mind finds it impossible to formulate, even in a limited way, an adequate conception of God and the nature of His Being. God may well be more complex, as far as man is concerned, than man is when compared to the amoeba.

Psalm 122:6

In His Service,
Rick & Sandy

 liv4yeshua@cfdevotionals.org
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