Saturday, November 9, 2013

Triplets of Grace: God in Three Persons



God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9), so only He can understand His own nature as One God in Three Persons. Like the mysteries of the Incarnation (John 1:14), the Church (Ephesians 5:32), and the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-52), the Trinity is a great mystery that our limited human minds cannot understand fully until we reach glory (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Yet the Scripture is clear that God is one God, yet a three-part Being – Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22). We may not fully comprehend it, but we can have faith that it is so because God’s Word says it (2 Timothy 3:16). Each Person of the Trinity is unique, and yet All are equally God and perfectly aligned in Their will.

God is Spirit (John 4:24), Love (1 John 4:8) and Light (1 John 1:5). The spirit, or mind, of Father God formed a plan (Job 33:4; Psalm 143:10; Isaiah 61:1; Romans 8:9,14,27;; the body of God the Son offered Himself in perfect love to fulfill that plan (John 10:15,17; 15:13; 1 John 3:16). and the light energy of the Holy Spirit empowered that plan (Genesis 1:2). Father, Son and Holy Spirit are self-existent (Exodus 3:14), present from the beginning of time (John 1:1), and each possesses all the divine attributes.

From the beginning of Scripture (Genesis 1:1), the Trinity appears as Elohim, or Hebrew for God -- a plural noun used with a singular verb form, reflecting the constancy of all three Persons of God acting as One Creator. God the Father loved the world so much that to save it He gave His Son (John 3:16), conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20).

When Jesus the Son was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily shape like a dove, and God the Father in Heaven voiced His approval of His Son (Luke 3:22). As Jesus died for our sins, He with His last breath recognized that the Spirit was leaving His earthly body and was returning to the Father (Luke 23:46).

Thank God for His Triune nature, for without it, how would the plan of salvation be possible? Jesus suffering and dying as human flesh to pay for our sins would have no meaning or value unless God the Father raised Him from the dead, by the power of the Holy Spirit. All who trust in that as the only way to heaven (John 14:6) can therefore have everlasting life (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

After His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus Christ’s last words to His disciples before He ascended into Heaven were: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19).

When a person is saved by placing their faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), they are indwelled by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8; 2 Corinthians 1:22), Who instructs them in the knowledge of Jesus Christ (1 John 4:2). In turn, we can know the Father through knowing Jesus Christ (John 5:37;14:7-9). Paul prayed that the Father of glory would give believers at the church of Ephesus the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:17).

Many of the other epistles acknowledge and recognize the distinct yet unified Persons of the Trinity.  Jude tells us to pray in the Holy Ghost to keep ourselves in the love of God (the Father), looking forward to eternal life through the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 1:20-21). Peter says that believers are foreknown by the Father, sanctified by the Spirit, and cleansed from our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:2).

When we are born again and then baptized as a public act of obedience to God, we are baptized “in the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” reflecting the “the fact that all three persons of the Trinity have accomplished our salvation,” as the Prince of Preachers Charles Spurgeon put it (Sermon no. 115; 1 February, 1857). Spurgeon goes on to say:

The Father blots out my sin; the Father accepts me and adopts me into his family through Christ. The Son could not save without the Father any more than the Father without the Son; and as for the Holy Spirit, if the Son redeems, do you not know that the Holy Spirit regenerates? … When you say, “Saviour,” remember there is a Trinity in that word—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, this Saviour being three persons under one name. You cannot be saved by the Son without the Father, nor by the Father without the Son, nor by Father and Son without the Spirit. But as they are one in creation, so are they one in salvation, working together in one God for our salvation, and unto that God be glory everlasting, world without end. Amen. 

As we shall see in a subsequent post, there are numerous passages where Jesus prays to the Father or where He tells the disciples that He will leave but that the Comforter (Spirit) will come, again emphasizing that the Three Persons of the Trinity are distinct yet One in their perfect will. May we be ever thankful to the Trinity for our salvation -- to God the Father Who sent His Son to save us and His Spirit to guide us!


© 2013 Laurie Collett
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21 comments:

Nadwrażliwiec said...

It's the main point of discussion with for example Jehovah Witnesses - they claim, that Jesus can't be God, because He prayed to Father. But they "don't know Scriptures and God's power". Greetings for You from rainy Cracow :)

Ceil said...

Hi Laurie! The Trinity is one of the hardest concepts for me to understand. Three in One, Three Persons, I know it's true, it's just hard to make sense of it in human terms.

Faith is such a gift isn't it? It lets me accept things I can't humanly understand because it's all just so high above me. Thank you for this thorough discussion of a difficult concept!

Happy Sunday :)
Ceil

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Zim, Praise God that Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Spirit are all God, distinct yet One. Greetings and blessings to you -- hope you stay dry!

Frank E. Blasi said...

Dear Laurie,
It is interesting that a commentator had mentioned the Jehovah's Witnesses already.
You wrote that without God raising Jesus Christ bodily from the dead, his death would have no significance in saving us, which of course, is true. Both apostles Peter and Paul emphasised the physical resurrection of Christ and belief in this in the heart for the salvation of the sinner to take effect, e.g. Romans 10:9-10, 13.
Jehovah's Witnesses deny the Trinity, insisting that God is the Father of the Son, the latter created by the Father to be part of the Father/Son God team. Also according to the Watchtower Society, the created Jesus did not die on a cross, but instead was impaled on an upright wooden post or stake without the crossbar. They also argue that at the "resurrection" God could not have raised his Son from the dead physically, or else this would have undone the ransom Jesus paid in his death. Instead he was "raised" as a spirit - a mighty, kingly spirit, but still only a spirit, by God's impersonal "Active Force" or holy spirit (small initials). As with all other cults, salvation has to be earned and there is no eternal security for the believer.
This goes to show the devastating effect of the Watchtower's version of Christology and sotorology, yet insist that they only are the true Christians who obey the Bible, and dismiss all churches as part of "Satan's organisation."
Another great post emphasising the role of the Trinity within the Godhead and his role in Salvation. God bless.

Connie Arnold said...

That is a great explanation and inspiring post. Thank you!

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie,
I have always found it very easy to just accept what the scriptures say by knowing that God's ways are not our ways. He is not only known as 'I am what I am', but also 'I will be what I will be'. The important thing is that we know what He has called us to do.
God bless

Pamela said...

Triplets of Grace--I love that! So thankful for the Trinity. I wouldn't want to live daily without them. You have a way with explaining the spiritual.

Donald Fishgrab said...

While I know of no way of completely explaining the trinity, It is such a blessing to know that it is real adn accept it by faith.

Great post.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Ceil! If we could understand God completely, we wouldn't need faith, and without faith, it is impossible to please Him. Thanks so much for your comment, and may you have a blessed week in Him!
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks so much, Frank, for your thorough and enlightening comment on Jehovah's Witnesses. All the cults have in common not only a works-based salvation, but also that they deny the divinity of Christ! We are so blessed to be the only faith serving a risen Saviour, the only true God!
God bless,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks so much, Connie, for your visit and lovely comment! God bless,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Brenda,
Your faith is an inspiration and a source of great blessing not only to you, but to your readers. Seeking His will and following it is the best blessing we could possibly have.
Love in Christ,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Pamela, for your kind words of encouragement! Without the Trinity, we could do nothing, but with Him, all things are possible.
God bless,
Laurie

Paul G said...

Nobody can understand the trinity, that is because it is a lie.
'God in three persons blessed Trinity'.
It amazes me that Christians are so deceived to believe by faith such a satanic lie as the trinity.
Three people equal one God. I think that everyone who believes that, lack's intelligence and should seriously judge themselves, or they will be judged by the only true God Jesus Christ the Lord (Jude 1:25 and 1 John 5:20).
Paul

Laurie Collett said...

Paul, either you believe the Word or you don't. There are so many passages, in addition to the ones cited here, where the Son speaks to the Father or speaks of sending the Comforter, that to ignore them is heresy. If you don't believe Matt. 28:19 or Luke 3:22, what business do you have citing Jude 1:25 and 1 John 5:20? Only in the light of the former can you understand that in Jesus Christ dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:29), and that God in the latter verses refers to the fullness of the Trinity. The fallacy of the cults is that they take verses out of context and apart from the preponderance of Scripture, resulting in heresy.
You are entitled to your own beliefs. Differences in opinion make for lively comments, but mocking God's Word by denouncing the Trinity as a lie, or insulting the readers of this blog as lacking intelligence will not be tolerated. Any subsequent comments not following these requests will be deleted.
Thanks in advance for your understanding.. Praying for you, for God's Word to illuminate your mind and heart with His wisdom.

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, Donald! Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed (John 10:29).
Thanks as always for your comment, & God bless,
Laurie

Katherines Corner said...

The Holy trinity. What a lovely post. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. ♥

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Katherine, for your sweet comment & for hosting, & God bless!
Laurie

Adorned From Above said...

Thanks so much for sharing with Wednesday's Adorned From Above Link Party.
Have a great week.
Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above
http://www.adornedfromabove.com

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Debi & Charly, for hosting & for your comment! God bless,
Laurie

AngieOuellette-Tower said...

This fantastic post received the most "clicks" from the November Themed Blog & Shop Hop - you are featured on my blog: http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/2013/12/november-results-for-themed-blog-shop.html
Thanks so much & if you have time to link up - the new hop is going on right now