Of God and of the Holy Trinity

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Chapter 2

• Of God and of the Holy Trinity

2

• Who Is God?
• What is God Like?

3
Who is God?

• Q. 4 What is God?
• Answer God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and
  unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power,
  holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

4
What is God like?

• Or, to ask it differently, when we think of God
  what comes to mind?
• He is a person
• He is a tri-unity
• Father
• Son
• Spirit
• He exists in relationship

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• Q. 6How many persons are in the one God?
• Answer Three persons are in the one God, the
  Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Thee three
  are one God, the same in substance and equal in
  power and glory.

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How can God be three persons, yet one God?

• The word trinity means tri-unity or
  three-in-oneness. It is used to summarize the
  teaching of Scripture that God is three persons
  yet one God.
• Partial revelation in the Old Testament.
• Us Genesis 126, 322, 117
• I us in Isaiah 68
• Me and His Spirit in Isaiah 4816

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Direct NT references to the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit

• Matthew 31617 "As soon as Jesus Christ was
  baptized, he went up out of the water. At that
  moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit
  of God descending like a dove and landing on him.
  And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son,
  whom I love with him I am well pleased.' " Mark
  11011 Luke 322 John 132)
• Matthew 2819 "Therefore go and make disciples
  of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
  Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

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• 2 Corinthians 1314 "The grace of the Lord Jesus
  Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of
  the Holy Spirit be with all of you."
• Luke 135 "The angel answered and said to her,
  'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
  power of the Most High will overshadow you and
  for that reason the holy Child shall be called
  the Son of God.' "
• Hebrews 914 "How much more, then, will the
  blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
  offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our
  consciences from acts that lead to death, so that
  we may serve the living God!"

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Summary Statement

• Each of the persons is understood as having the
  one identical essence or nature, not merely
  similar natures.
• Since the beginning of the third century the
  doctrine of the Trinity has been stated as "the
  one God exists in three Persons and with one
  essence or substance, Father, Son, and Holy
  Spirit.
• The Council of Nicaea tackled this issue and
  formulated the Nicene Creed 325 AD

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Click on various parts of the timeline for more
information.
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Continuing Heresy that started with Arianism

• Islam is the largest descendant of Arianism
  today. There is some superficial similarity in
  Islam's teaching that Jesus was a great prophet,
  but very distinct from God, although Islam sees
  Jesus as a human messenger of God without the
  divine properties that Arianism attributes to
  Christ. Islam sees itself as a continuation of
  the Jewish and Christian traditions and reveres
  many of the same prophets, though Islam denies
  the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and
  historical Arians confessed it.

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• However, much of southeastern Europe and central
  Europe, including many of the Goths and Vandals
  respectively, had embraced Arianism (the
  Visigoths converted to Arian Christianity in
  376), which led to Arianism being a religious
  factor in various wars in the Roman Empire. In
  the west, organized Arianism survived in North
  Africa, in Hispania, and parts of Italy until it
  was finally suppressed in the 6th and 7th
  centuries. Later, during the Protestant
  reformation, a religious sect in Poland known as
  the Polish Brethren were commonly referred to as
  Arians due to their rejection of the Trinity.

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• Thus, over the past 1,700 years, some Christians
  have used the term Arian to refer to those groups
  that see themselves as worshiping Jesus Christ or
  respecting his teachings, but who do not hold to
  the Nicene Creed..
• There have been religious movements holding
  beliefs that either they, or their opponents,
  have considered Arian. Unitarians are virtually
  Arians in that they are unwilling either to
  reduce Christ to a mere human being or to
  attribute to him a divine nature identical with
  that of the Father. Another religious movement
  with a strong Arian belief are the Jehovahs
  Witness and Mormons. Jesus Christ is considered
  divine but not equal to the one God.

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Can we really know God?

• Necessary that He reveal Himself to us
• Matthew 1127
• We will never fully understand God 1
  Corinthians 1312-I3 know in part or see through
  a glass darkly
• God is infinite
• God is incomprehensible Psalm 1453, Psalm
  1475, Psalm 1397, 17
• Yet, we can know Him 1 John 520, I John 213
  
• Impossible to know God apart from faith Heb. 116

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Teaching of Scripture

• God is three persons
• Each person is fully God
• 3. There is one God

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• As we saw above there is a more complete
  revelation of Trinitarian God in New Testament
• Matthew 316-17 in Jesus baptism
• Matthew 2819 in Great Commission
• 2 Corinthians 1314
• Ephesians 44-6
• I Peter 12
• Jude 20-21

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God is three persons

• Father is not the Son
• John 11-2 shows the Word is with God
• John 1724
• 1 John 21
• Father is not the Holy Spirit and the Son is not
  the Holy spirit
• John 1426
• Romans 827

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Diagrammatic expression of Trinity
Courtesy of Wikipedia
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Each person is fully God

• God the Father is clearly God
• Genesis 11
• The Son is fully God
• John 11-4
• John 2028 My Lord and my God!
• The Holy Spirit is fully God
• Acts 53-4 lie to the Holy Spirit
• Psalm 1397-8

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Attributes

• The Characteristics or Qualities of God
• A. W. Tozers summary statement Something that
  is true about God
• We theologically divide His attributes into
  communicable and in communicable

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Incommunicable attributes

• How is God different from us? Those attributes
  less shared by us.
• Independence or self-existence of God. Unlike
  man, does not depend on anything outside of
  Himself.
• Immutability of God. God is unchangeable.
• Infinity of God. God is not subject to
  limitations.
• Simplicity of God. Not composed of parts.

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Communicable attributes

• Those attributes of which we find some
  resemblance in man (limited). Man is created in
  the image of God
• Knowledge of God, Omniscience means that God
  knows everything 1 John 320.
• Power, Omnipotence means all-powerful. nothing
  is too hard for you Jer. 3217.

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• Wisdom of God means that God always chooses the
  best goals and the best means to those goals.
  the only wise God Rom. 1627.
• Goodness of God means that all God is and does is
  worthy of approval. No one is good but God
  alone Luke 1819.
• Love of God means that God eternally gives of
  himself to others. God is Love 1 John 48.

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• Holiness means that He is separated from sin and
  that all of his attributes are in perfect harmony
  at all times. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of
  host the whole earth is full of his glory Isa.
  63.
• Righteousness means that God always acts in
  accordance with what is right. Just and right is
  He Deut. 324.
• Sovereignty means that the will of God is able to
  exercise His rule over all creation. The secret
  things belong to the Lord Deut. 2929

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The attributes associated with the Trinity

• Omnipresence Jer 2324, Matt. 2820, Ps.
  1397-12
• Omnipotence Rom. 116 Matt. 2818, Rom. 1519
• Omniscience Rom. 1133, John 2117, John 1426
• Immutability Mal. 36, Heb. 138, Hag. 25
• Eternality Ps. 902, John 11, Heb. 914
• Holiness Lev. 192, Heb. 415, name holy
• Love 1 John 31, Matt. 936, name comforter

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Diagrammatic of Gods Attributes
Gods Attributes
All of Gods attributes working in totally
harmony at all times
Gods Holiness
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Work of the Trinity

• Creation of the world Ps. 10225, John 13, Gen.
  12
• Creation of man Gen. 27, Col. 116, Job 334
• Death of Christ Isa. 5310, John 1018, Heb.
  914
• Resurrection of Christ Acts 232, John 219, 1
  Peter 318

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• Indwelling of believers Eph. 46, Col. 17, 1
  Cor. 619
• Authority of ministry 2 Cor. 34-6, 1 Tim. 112,
  Acts 2028
• Security of believer John 1029, Phil. 16, Eph.
  113,14

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Importance of the doctrine of the Trinity

• The atonement is at stake. How could a creature
  bear the full wrath of God?
• Justification by faith alone is threatened.
  (Jehovah Witness, etc.)
• If Jesus was a creature it would be idolatry to
  worship Him.
• The personal nature of God as presented in the
  Bible are at stake.