- What did Jesus say when He was asked what the greatest commandment was?
- If love God/neighbor:
- That is what Matthew 22 says but Mark includes something else first or perhaps it was a different occasion
- Mark 12:28-31 (quoting Deuteronomy 6:4)
- 1 Corinthians 8:4
- Galatians 3:20
- 1 Timothy 2:5
- One of the fundamental Christian beliefs is that God is one
- That is simple enough to understand but there is a problem since the Bible reveals much more than this
- God the Father
- John 6:27
- Romans 1:7
- 1 Peter 1:2
- God the Son
- John 1:1
- John 1:14
- Romans 9:5
- Colossians 2:9
- Hebrews 1:8
- 1 John 5:20
- God the Holy Spirit
- Acts 5:3-4
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
- And so there seem to be three unique persons who are all God and yet there is only one God
- And we find this all over the Bible this seeming contradiction
- Matthew 3:16-17
- Mark 14:35-36
- The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are separate beings and yet how can these beings be one?
- There is internal relationship between the three persons of the trinity
- The Son submits to the Father
- Luke 22:42
- John 5:36
- John 20:21
- 1 John 4:14
- The Spirit submits to the Father and the Son
- John 14:16
- John 14:26
- John 15:26
- John 16:7
- John 16:13-14
- They have different tasks
- The Father initiates and the Son carries the task out with the help of the Holy Spirit
- Creation
- 1 Corinthians 8:6
- Genesis 1:2
- Revelation
- Revelation 1:1
- 2 Peter 1:21
- Salvation
- Human works
- John 5:17
- John 14:10
- Acts 10:38
- Genesis 1:1
- Translations say God, not gods
- But it is more complex than that
- The word for God in this verse is elohim which is plural (gods) but the word created is singular
- It would be like me saying "we am going to the store"
- More plural God language:
- Genesis 1:26
- Genesis 3:22
- Genesis 11:7
- Deuteronomy 6:4
- "echad"=one
- Genesis 1:5 two times (night and day) are described as "echad" day
- Genesis 1:9 plural waters are described as "echad"
- Genesis 2:24 two people are described as "echad"
- Ezra 2:64 an assembly of people are described as "echad"
- Ezekiel 37:16-17 two sticks are described as "echad"
- Mark 12:28-29
- This is the same word for one as in:
- Matthew 19:5
- Romans 12:5
- 1 Corinthians 3:8
- John 10:30
- So you see that there is no contradiction in Scripture
- When God says He is one it is a plural one, not a singular one
- Imagine how you would describe a flat screen tv to the ancient Egyptians if you time traveled to them
- We describe things based on what people know
- So when my daughter asks what a pancake tastes like I might tell her it is like bread with honey
- And it isn't exactly but it's all she understands till she becomes familiar with pancakes and other foods
- But when something is truly unique and without parallel in the whole universe it is very hard to describe it well
- This is why analogies are never correct if scrutinized just as my description of pancakes is not quite right
- Definition:
- "Within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" (forgotten trinity)
- "when speaking of the Trinity, we need to realize that we are talking about one what and three who’s" (forgotten trinity)
- Does all this really matter?
- Because I love my wife and kids I like to talk to people about them sometimes and even show occasional pictures of them
- And if I were to show you a picture of my family I would not be happy if you were to tell me "no, that's not your wife" or "that's not your only wife"
- It is very important to me that it be known that my wife is married to me and that she is the only one married to me
- In the same way it bothers me when someone says "Jesus isn't God" or "there are other gods too, you know"
- These statements are false and dishonor God
- "We are all naturally jealous that the truth about those we love be known. We are hurt when they are lied about, or misrepresented, or mistreated."
- And we should feel that way about God too
- "Jesus said that the Father is seeking worshipers who will worship in spirit and in truth. [John 4:24] God is not honored by the worship of false gods. And we are hardly benefited by worshiping something or someone that does not exist."
- If we have defective or worse yet if we have wrong information and have been deceived then our worship is either lessened due to ignorance or completely invalid as the worship of a false god
- We should be balanced in our focus on the trinity
- Some are so focused on the Spirit that the Father and Son are lost in a haze of emotion
- Some are so focused on the Father that they lose sight of the love of the Son and joy and empowerment of the Spirit
- Some are so focused of the Son that they forget about the holiness of the Father and the gifts of the Spirit
- "The Gospel is the means by which the Father, in eternal love and mercy, saves men through the redeeming work of the Son, Jesus Christ, and draws them to himself by the power and regenerating work of the Spirit." The Gospel is trinitarian. Remove any one of them and you have no Gospel
- Do you love the trinity?
- Deep down do you long to honor and glorify God, knowing that God is not honored by falsehood?
- Do you want to grow in grace and truth?
- Do you want everyone else to know about the God who redeemed you?