Getting to Know God: the Holy Trinity

John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

 

“Knowing God is a relationship calculated to thrill a man’s heart. What happens is that the almighty Creator, the Lord of hosts, the great God before whom the nations are as a drop in a bucket, comes to him and begins to talk to him, through the words and truths of Holy Scripture. As he listens to what God is saying, he finds himself brought very low; for God talks to him about his sin, and guilt, and weakness, and blindness, and folly, and compels him to judge himself hopeless and helpless, and to cry out for forgiveness. But this is not all. He comes to realize as he listens that God is actually opening His heart to him, making friends with him, and enlisting him a colleague.” J.I. Packer

 

“A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well. It is to worship what the foundation is to the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure most sooner or later collapse. I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God.” A.W. Tozer

 

“A spiritual and saving knowledge of God is the greatest need of every human creature…The foundation of all true knowledge of God must be a clear mental apprehension of His perfections as revealed in Holy Scripture. An unknown God can neither be trusted, served, nor worshipped…God is only truly known in the soul as we yield ourselves to Him, submit to His authority, and regulate all the details of our lives by His holy precepts and commandments.” Arthur W. Pink

 

“Knowing God has little to do with going to church or with being good, although both of these will grow out of knowing him. Knowing God is not merely being religious or even developing your own unique beliefs about spiritual issues. Rather, knowing God is having the Creator of the universe as a friend…Eternal life in the future tense is eternity in heaven with God. Eternal life in the present tense is knowing God personally now.” Tim Riter

 

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” 1 John 4:9-10,13-14 (NIV)

 

“Our knowledge of the God we see in nature is clarified when we study the Holy Scriptures. When we respond to this truth, we accept His Son Jesus Christ as our Savior and allow God to possess us as His own. We are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to seal our relationship with God and assist us in knowing Him. To truly know God, is to daily live our life in submission to the Father, under the direction and power of the Spirit, while by our obedience to God’s word we are conformed to the image of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

 

 New life in Christ is based on our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior but its essence is a restored relationship with God. Any relationship involves getting to know the person we have that relationship with. In the case of a Believer, our relationship is with a triune God, which includes the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

                       

The Triune God Who Saved Us For Service and His Glory

 

Understanding the concept of God being a triune being is difficult to comprehend, but it is crucial to the Christian for it is the one of the foundations of our faith. It has been said that an explanation of our triune God or trinity is as follows: “Within the nature of the ONE God are three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Each of these three persons shares the same qualities and all make up the ONE God we serve and worship as Christians. Another way to describe our triune God is to say, “God is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.”

 

We must understand that while the word “trinity” is not mentioned specifically in God’s Word, it is a theological concept that is supported by scripture. It is a doctrine that has been supported and upheld by Christians down through history.

 

This doctrine or belief of the trinity came about as Christians properly interpreted scripture and saw the message that God was conveying about Himself throughout the entire Bible. Various portions of scripture describe each person of the trinity giving us information and knowledge about how each functions as God as well as how each one works in unison with the other. The Father, Son and Spirit never contradict each other or work against the will of the other. They work in unison to bring about their collective will. They are inseparable in nature, glory, perfection and holiness, though they often differ in the way they function in the Christian’s life.

 

When we properly interpret scripture and see that each verse, chapter and book interrelate to each other to give us the knowledge of God we will fully understand the God we both love and serve. Studying the scriptures we must always understand that verses are interpreted in relationship to the verses that surround them. The verses in question must be seen in light of the chapters that surround them. The chapters must be evaluated in accordance with the theme of the book that contains them and the book being studied is seen in the context of the entire message and theme of scripture as a whole, both Old and New Testament. Doctrines of the Christian faith such as the triune nature of God developed as Christians carefully, accurately, properly and with the leading of the Holy Spirit weighed out what various passages meant according to the guidelines mentioned above.

 

Unfortunately through history, various individuals and groups have inappropriately interpreted scripture to suit their own beliefs or to justify their sins. Often the Doctrine of the Trinity has been questioned when people have been deceived by their own understanding or worse, Satan himself.

 

Following are truths that are backed by scripture that give us some idea of how Christians came about understanding the nature of God as triune. It is not an exhaustive list, but will provide you with some evidence that supports the doctrine of the Trinity.

 

The source of eternal life comes from each of them: God the Father

(Romans 6:23), Jesus (John 10:28) and the Holy Spirit (Galatians 6:8).

 

We are the temple of each of them: God the Father

(I Corinthians 6:17), Jesus (Ephesians 3:14-17), and the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 3:16).

 

Christ was resurrected by each of them:

God the Father (Acts 3:26,17:31)

Jesus (John 2:19-21)

Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11)

 

Divine titles are given to each of them:

God the Father (Genesis 17:1)

Jesus (John 20:28,Acts 3:15)

Holy Spirit (John 15:26).

 

Each is omnipotent (all-powerful):

God the Father (Jeremiah 32:17)

Jesus (Revelation 1:8, Matthew 28:18)

Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35).

 

Each is omnipresent (all-present):

God the Father (Jeremiah 23:24)

Jesus (Ephesians 1:21)

Holy Spirit (Psalms 139:7-10)

 

Each is omniscient (all-knowing):

God the Father (Acts 15:18)

Jesus (John 21:17)

Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 2:10-11).

 

Each is true:

God the Father (John 7:28)

Jesus (John 1:14)

Holy Spirit (I John 5:6, John 16:13).

 

Each participated in creation:

God the Father (Nehemiah 9:6)

Jesus (Colossians 1:16)

Holy Spirit (Job 26:13).

 

Each is referred to in scripture as God:

God the Father (John 17:3, I Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 1:3, I Peter 1:3)

Jesus (Isaiah 9:6, John 1:1-3, 5:18, 8:58, 10:33, 20:28, Romans 9:5, Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:8-13

Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

 

There are also various scriptural references where the Father, Son and Spirit are mentioned or manifested together.

 

At the baptism of Christ we see the Son of God, Jesus, being baptized. We also see the Spirit of God descending as a dove. Also manifested is a voice from heaven above, God the Father, stating saying “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17)

 

Another reference is in Matthew 28:19 where Christ commands us to baptize those we lead to salvation in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost. This act of baptism is an act of worship towards each person of the trinity as well as commitment to each of the three persons of the trinity. God does not share his glory or worship with anyone therefore this act of baptism is done in the name of God, the trinity, including the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

The apostle Paul refers to the Trinity when he states in I Corinthians 12:4-6 that we have the same Spirit, the same Lord and the same God. There may be differences in the spiritual gifts we have or different kinds of ministry or works we perform, but we have only ONE God.

 

Scripture teaches everywhere, and very plainly, that there is only ONE God. It does this explicitly and emphatically. But scripture also is very clear that within the nature of this God we serve, there are three divine persons. It is from this hard-to-understand twofold teaching that the doctrine of the Trinity comes. This doctrine is not tritheism or three gods. We must take care in our struggles with understanding the person of God we do not mold God in our image so that our small minds can fathom the mystery of His person. 

 

 I believe the difficulty we have with understanding the person of God expressed in the doctrine of the Trinity does not lie within the doctrine itself. The problem lies within us. We are finite created beings attempting to understand the God of creation. The One who has existed for all eternity and has no beginning or end. It is not surprising that as we attempt to understand who God is that we are overwhelmed.

 

Several scriptures tell us that it is difficult if not impossible to fully understand the person of God.

 

Job 11:7, “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?”

 

Psalms 145:3, “Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”

 

 I pray, as you attempt to understand the God who has saved you, who lives within you, who you love and serve, that you will remember 1 Corinthians 13:12 “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” When we get to heaven we will hopefully have a better chance of understanding the God who saved us, the God who has prepared a place for us, the God who loves us. I wouldn’t be surprised though, that even in heaven, we might be found walking the streets of gold, scratching our heads, amazed at the person of God, attempting to fully understand who He is.  

 

Attributes of God

 

ETERNAL: He has always existed and always will. Exodus 3:14

 

While we have a birth and death, God has no beginning or end. While the world and the entire universe had a point in time when it came into existence, there never was a time when God did not exist. In this scripture verse God states to Moses “I AM WHO I AM.” In other words God is saying, “I exist because I always have and always will.” God is the object of our faith and part of His stability of our Heavenly Father is the fact that He is eternal with no limitations.

 

IMMUTABLE: God never changes. James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

 

We have good and bad days which influence how we act and behave. We mature over time as we learn and cope with life, but God never changes. He is just as knowledgeable now as He was when He created the universe. He makes His decisions through time based on His unchanging holiness and omniscience. He does not mature and grow in skill and ability for He is complete and perfect as He is. We have a consistent God who can be depended upon to be reliable in how He loves, cares and provides for us.

 

OMNISCIENCE: God knows all things. Psalm 147:5, Proverbs 15:3, Isaiah 40:14, 1 John 3:20 “For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

 

We must study, memorize and seek to learn more and more as we grow as a person. We strive for knowledge and information, God possesses it as part of His nature. God did not go to school or absorb information to know what He knows. It is simply a part of His nature to know all there is to know. There is no mystery to Him. There is nothing that ever surprises Him. He knows all that has happened and ever will happen.

 

WISE: God is wise beyond comprehension. Psalm 104:24, Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”

 

Knowledge is one thing, but to possess wisdom is quite another. God knows all things but uses this knowledge to make perfect wise decisions for His purpose and glory. While we make poor decisions at times even if we have a good understanding of the situation, God never makes a bad choice for He is as wise as He is pure. We have a God we can trust in for His judgment is always accurate and righteous.

 

Omnipotent: God is all-powerful. Genesis 1:1, Psalm 65, Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”

 

We are amazed at the forces of nature in the form of a tsunami, a volcano, or a hurricane, but our Heavenly Father created these forces. They are under His power. He controls and maintains the entire universe with no weakening of strength or ability. God is on our side in the struggles and trials we face. We should never doubt that God would help us for He is unlimited in might and power. What a mighty God we serve!

 

Omnipresent: God is present everywhere, always. Psalm 139:7-10, Jeremiah 23:23-24 “‘Am I only a God nearby,’ declares the LORD, ‘and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the LORD. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the LORD.”

 

It is almost impossible to comprehend, but God is always everywhere. He is present in your bedroom and in your office, but also in your neighbor’s home and the homes of those across the sea. He is present with astronauts in space and aquanauts at the bottom of the sea. There is no place that God is not present at every moment in time. Knowing that God is omnipresent has both comforting and ominous ramifications. It means He is always available to be called upon to intervene and knows what we are facing. It also is true that He is present when we sin in whatever form. Nothing we ever do is hidden from His eyes.

 

Faithful: God is always perfectly faithful. Psalm 36:5, Psalm 89:5 “The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.”

 

We attempt to be faithful but fail when we live in the flesh without the power of the Spirit. God never fails in being faithful. He can always be counted upon to follow through with what He has promised. He will always remain faithful to His servants. He will never slip up, fail, or leave us lacking. We may not always understand His purposes and actions, but God is always faithful.

 

Good: God is full of goodness. Psalm 33:5 “The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”

 

If you think of how good it felt to do something nice for someone that is how God feels all the time because He is full of goodness. Goodness could be defined as unselfish actions, seeking the well being of others, honesty, fairness or loving with no strings attached. That is the goodness that our God possesses as part of His character.

 

Just: God is righteous and always fair. Psalm 11:7, Hebrews 6:10 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”

 

Life is not always fair, but God always is. God is honorable, honest, blameless, upright, virtuous, moral and respectable. This righteousness of God is evidence for His fairness. God is completely fair and honest when He deals with individuals. There will come a day when all actions will be judged. While evil and wicked men seem to prosper in the world, a day will come when God will hold them accountable in His righteous and fair judgment. God will be fair with His children as well for He has forgiven all our sins and grants us eternal life and will reward our obedience in numerous ways.

 

Merciful: God loves all people because of their need for His love. James 3:17, Ephesians 2:4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.”

 

The verse above tells us, “God is rich in mercy.” This means that God has mercy to spare. He is so full of mercy that it overflows through the actions of Jesus on the cross. Even though all mankind deserves to face the penalty for sin, death, because God is rich in mercy He provided a way through His Son to re-establish a relationship with us. Some might ask, “If God is so merciful, why would He send anyone to hell?” The reason is that while God is full of mercy, He is also holy and just and must act according to His character. To permit unbelieving sinners to enter heaven would violate His commitment to holiness and would be an unjust benefit for them.

 

Full of Grace: Completely undeserved favor and mercy. Ephesians 2:4-5, Ephesians 2:9-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

 

God’s mercy and grace are twin expressions of His love. Grace is the favor He bestows upon those who accept His Son as Savior. It has been defined as unmerited favor. It is His action of forgiving us for our sins even though we don’t deserve such forgiveness. God is as full of grace as He is of mercy. Since He is always the same, He will always act out of His grace and mercy when dealing with us.

 

Love: God is pure love. 1 John 4:8-9 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”

 

We could attempt to define love in many ways, but the most accurate way would be to speak of our Heavenly Father as the perfect definition of love. We would be correct in this for no one loves perfectly as God can. No one can love with as pure and holy a motive as He. If we truly comprehend the love that characterizes God we can’t help but respond to such a loving God as He.

 

Holy: God is without sin, perfect in every way. 1 Peter 1:16 “for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

 

Since we have been born we have always known sin as a part of us. Even as children of God we still sin at times when we fail to obey God and listen to His Spirit within us. But God has never known sin as part of His being. He has never, ever sinned. He has eternally existed and in all that time has never committed even one sin. He will always exist and He will never sin in the future. He is holy and pure and is worthy of honor, praise and glory because of his perfect character. Even though He is sinless, He has chosen to love us sinners and sacrifice His only Son to provide a way of salvation for us.

           

Sovereign: God rules over all creation. Psalm 93

 

God is supreme ruler over all creation. He is King and Lord over all that is seen and unseen. He is where the buck stops. He makes all the decisions that influence our existence and future. He is the ultimate master and authority over all that exists. God’s sovereignty is complete and can never be questioned by any other power or authority.

 

 

Because God has these attributes, He is absolutely worthy of being the object of our faith. We can have absolute trust that God can be relied upon to provide and to care for us. God will give us the faith we need to handle anything that comes our way. The only requirement is that we be willing to receive His gift and allow Him to develop it in our life.

 

God in the Old Testament

 

God reveals Himself to us through His actions and laws of the Old Testament. We can know much about who God is through reading, studying and meditating on the books of the Old Testament.

 

We see God pronouncing and verifying his uniqueness as Lord and refusing to share His glory with anyone. We see this stated in Exodus 20 where the Ten Commandments are given to Moses. God’s first commandment is one of commitment to belief in Him as the only God who exists. The second commandment is one of proper action to the first commandment. No one is to have or worship an idol, which is a substitute for God. In the second commandment God tells us that He is the only one worthy of worship and He will not share His glory with false gods or idols of any form.

 

We see in the Old Testament God’s dealings with a chosen group of people, Israel. We see God actions of love towards these people as He liberates them, guides them, empowers them, disciplines them and forgives them. In many ways God’s relationship with Israel can often remind us of His relationship with us. No matter how much Israel rebelled, questioned and disobeyed God, He always provided a way of salvation for them. In our own lives as Christians, no matter how much we fail Him, He is faithful and just to forgive them when we ask Him (1 John 1:9). God is a God of relationships. He desires to love people who desire to worship Him as their Lord. While the Jewish people are still His chosen, God has adopted those gentiles who believe in His only Son as their Savior.

 

 

We also see in the Old Testament numerous examples of God dealing with individual men and women of faith. Moses, Joshua, Ruth, Ester, Job, Samson, David, Abraham, and Sarah just to mention a few. We see how God chose and used common men and women to bring about His will. We too can do great things for God as we come to know Him and seek to obey Him in all we do.

 

God in the New Testament

 

In the New Testament we find God fulfilling His promises and prophecies through His Son Jesus Christ. God becomes flesh and dwells among men to bring about salvation. We also see God grant the gift of His Spirit to believers when they accept Christ as their Savior. The triune God of the Old Testament manifests Himself in a new and dynamic way in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit was given to individuals in the Old Testament for brief moments of ministry and action, but in the New Testament He is given as a permanent gift to those who call Jesus Lord and Master.

 

In the New Testament we find God continuing the practice of choosing men and women to fulfill His plans and purpose. God uses Mary to bear the Christ child, the twelve disciples are chosen by Jesus to establish the first church, and Paul is confronted on the Damascus Road and responds in faith and action. God desires to bring His will and Kingdom into existence but carries out His plans through using weak vessels of His creation. Limited and inadequate as we are, God uses us by endowing us with spiritual gifts, holding us accountable through a local fellowship and giving to us His Holy Spirit to empower us to do great works of faith for Him.

 

The Father, Son and Spirit

 

Our relationship with God is tri-fold as is His essence. We pray to the Heavenly Father, through the power of His Spirit and in the name of His Son Jesus Christ. We are called to serve and obey our Heavenly Father for Jesus gave us this example in scripture as He served God’s will (Luke 22, John 4:24, 6:38, 7:16, 12:49).

 

Our Heavenly Father

 

To know our Heavenly Father is to see Him in the fullness of His glory. What would this be like? We get a glimpse of our Heavenly Father from the portion of scripture in Isaiah 6:1-4 where it says, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

 

‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.”

 

What would have been your response seeing your Heavenly Father in this situation? In Isaiah 6:5 we see Isaiah’s response, “‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.’”

 

Isaiah’s situation was frightening because even though he was a prophet and a man of God, he realized his sin was not acceptable in the presence of God. Isaiah’s situation is similar to ours before we accept Christ as our Savior. While God is always willing to begin a relationship with us, it cannot begin until we accept His Son as our Savior. Our sin is too great for an ongoing deep relationship with God to even begin without intervention of Jesus.

 

But what happened to Isaiah? Did he get to remain and hear what God had to say? We have an answer in Isaiah 6:6-7 “Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

 

His Heavenly Father received Isaiah because he was made acceptable in God’s sight. We also have this privilege because when we accept Christ as our Savior we are made acceptable. While God has always been and always will be holy, pure, glorious and mighty as Christians we can approach Him and fellowship with Him because of what Christ has done for us at Calvary.

 

Jesus Christ, Son of God

 

The 19^th-Century Statesman Daniel Webster was asked once, “How can you comprehend how Christ can be both God and man?”  

Webster replied, “Sir, I cannot comprehend it. If I could comprehend Him, He would be no greater than myself. I feel I need a superhuman Savior.”

 

While on the earth Jesus seemed to be a lot like us. He had to eat and sleep. He grew tired and weary after a long day. He was in every sense of the word, a man. To know Jesus is to know Him as a man who knows our circumstances and suffering.

 

Hebrews 4:14

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.”

 

During His ministry on the earth, Jesus showed compassion for those who were poor and sick (Matthew 9:36). He showed love for little children (Matthew 18). He showed disdain for religious people who knew about God but had no relationship with Him (Matthew 12:34). He was disappointed in His disciples lack of faith (Matthew 17:20). He gave numerous examples in His actions of how a true servant should behave both in attitude and actions (Matthew 13:5).

 

Jesus is the same today as He was on the earth. He has compassion for our condition and us. He loves us as His children. He shows contempt for those of us who are religious but not relational with Him. He is disappointed in us when we fail to trust in Him and have faith that He is our Lord and provider. His example of servanthood still stands for us a pure example of how we should live to bring glory to Him.

 

On a few occasions though, Jesus revealed His divine nature. One such occurrence is recorded in Mark 4:35-39 where it says, “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’  Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” Here Jesus demonstrated His deity by showing His power over the creation He had made. Jesus was not only a man He was also God in every specific detail. He was God in the flesh. He was and is the exact representation of God.

 

Hebrews 1:3-4

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

           

To know Jesus is to know that His humanity shows His identification with our earthly predicament and us. To know Jesus is to know that His sacrifice on the cross makes possibly our forgiveness of sins. He continues in this function as our advocate in heaven.

 

1 John 2:1-2

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

 

Knowing Jesus is the greatest honor and privilege. We have a loving Lord who treats us as His own flesh and blood. We have a powerful Lord who grants us as participants in His will and power on the earth. We have a victorious Lord who shares the spoils of the battle with His spiritual soldiers.

 

There are three aspects to knowing Jesus. We must know Him as our Savior (John 1:12, 3:16). We must accept Him as our Lord and Master (Luke 2:11, Luke 6:46-49, John 14:15, 1 John 2:3-6. We must realize He is our friend (John 15:12-15).

 

The Holy Spirit

 

John 14:16-18

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

 

John 16:8-9

“When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:”

 

The Holy Spirit lives within each Christian and is to be a counselor, a comforter, a guide and a source of power to live a spiritual life acceptable to God. He is not an impersonal force or power. He is a spiritual being. He is as much God as our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The scriptures in John above are references to His personality. Personal pronouns are used in reference to Him (John 16:13-14; Acts 13). He instructs, regenerates, sanctifies and comforts Christians (John 3:5-6, 1 Peter 1:2). We are warned not to blaspheme against, not to resist, not to grieve, or to quench the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32; Acts 7:51; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). He distributes the spiritual gifts as He sees fit (1 Corinthians 12). Without the Holy Spirit the Christian life would be impossible to live.

 

Behaviors Hindering Our Relationship With God

 

“Impersonal perceptions of God…lead to impersonal relationships with Him.” Tim Riter

 

Religion

Religion is our search to know God on our terms. It is making the rules for our acceptance by God according to our understanding. In religion we determine our own salvation.

 

Profession rather than possession

We may profess to know God, but unless His Spirit possesses us we do not (Matthew 7:21-23). Professing to know God is void if He does not live within us.

Legalism

Legalism is basing our lives on actions rather than love. God desires our love and commitment. Yes, obedience to God’s word and will is important, but it should flow not from obligation, but from a love for our Heavenly Father. In legalism we think that God accepts us only when we are good. What we fail to understand is that we can’t be good enough for God to accept us. He accepts us through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ and desires us to simply give Him our heart, mind and soul (Deuteronomy 6:5-9, Mark 12:30).

 

Cultural Faith

Many of us believe we are Christians because our parents were Christians, because we go to church or because we live in a “Christian” nation. God isn’t running a membership club. He wants an inward relationship with us.

 

Selfishness

One of the common sins we all commit is the sin of selfishness. We all struggle against with how important our desires are versus the needs of others and the wishes of God. To know Jesus Christ and what He did to save us

 

“The only way to consistently overcome self-absorption is through knowing God. Knowing God empowers us to break through the walls of self-absorption, and reach out to others. When we know God, we gain power for ministry.” Tim Riter 

 

HOW TO KNOW GOD

 

 Study His Word

 

2 Timothy 2:15

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

 

Scripture is our guidebook, our roadmap for life. In order to know God you must study and meditate on His Word. When we know God’s Word, we not only learn about who God is we learn about who He is not. There are various cults, false religions not to mention the world in general who continually attempt to distort and pervert what is know about our God. Just as bank tellers handle and examine real money to detect counterfeit bills, we must study the Bible to detect false doctrine and distortions that we are exposed to. God’s Word came from Him and is the ultimate authority to know about who He is.

 

1 Thessalonians 2:13 

“ And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”

 

Come in contact with Him.

           

Let God invade your life. Spend time with Him and seek His counsel in all you do. Look for ways he is working in your life. Immerse yourself in His word. See that through the application of His truth you get to know Him better. Listen to Christian music and worship Him in song. Fellowship with other Christians on a regular basis for God works through others in building His relationship with you. Serve the needs of others and within this ministry see your knowledge of God blossom. Relationships are built on investment of time. The more time you spend with God the more you will know Him in a deeper more personal way. As Psalm 34:8 says, take your refuge in Him and you will taste and see that the Lord is good.

 

Psalm 34:8

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”

 

Communicate with Him

 

“If we carried out our relationships here on earth the way we [do]…with God, none of them would survive. What would happen if you tried to love your spouse and never talked about anything meaningful? If you [took] candy and flowers once a week with no other communication…your relationship would die in a very short time.” David Jeremiah

 

We have a unique privilege as Christians. We have been given a method of communication with God that requires nothing more than a desire to speak to our Heavenly Father. We can pray. We can pray anytime of day or night. God always has an eager ear for words from us. In our prayers we can praise and petition. We can seek counsel and confess our shortcomings. We can weep and mourn. God knows our condition whenever we pray and will never turn us away.

 

Confess to Him

 

When we sin we wound our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Our sins do not cause God to reject us; they turn our hearts from Him. He always knows what we are doing. Confession does not inform God of our actions. It informs us that we know what God knows. It has been said that, “Confession is good for the soul.” Confession to God for the sins we commit turns us towards God again and restores our relationship with Him. It’s good for our soul to admit our mistakes and failings before our loving Lord.

 

1 John 1:5-10

“If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”

 

Conduct your life as a child of God

 

“The more we value any relationship, the more we work to maintain and improve it…We will never truly know God without passion for him – the difficulties are otherwise to daunting. But when we value God above all, that consuming desire leads us through troubles to our target.” Tim Riter

 

The substance of your relationship with God is based on the mutual love you have for one another. Conducting your life in a godly manner will foster growth in your relationship with God. When we put our heart commitment to action in behavior we verify that we truly love our Heavenly Father. Any good deeds we do are worth very little unless they are motivated by a love for God. The more we know about God, the more we know the importance of living a holy life. Knowing God has causes a transformation within us.

 

John 14:15

“’If you love me, you will obey what I command.’”

 

John 15:9-10

 “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”

 

Live in His Continual Presence

 

CONCLUSION

 

How does an ant eat an elephant? One small bite at a time. The same can be said of we as humble created beings who wish to somehow comprehend the God who created us.

 

It has been said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step.”

 

And so should we strive to know our God, one small bite at a time, taking one step at a time.

 

“When we know the Creator of the universe, we look at life differently. We see ‘coincidences’ that bear the tracks of God. We sense power we never had dreamed of before. We experience forgiveness for our worst sins. Best of all, we sense the presence of God living within us. We learn that eternal life is the best form of life, one we get addicted to and cannot do without.” Tim Riter

 

The Ministry of the Trinity

Christianity has at its foundation the doctrine of the Trinity, which is the understanding that while we worship ONE God, within His nature there are three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God as revealed through the Scriptures is ONE infinite and eternal Being. He is purely spiritual, the supreme personal Intelligence, the Creator and Preserver of all things, the perfect Moral Ruler of the universe. He is the only proper object of worship; He is tri-personal the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit constituting ONE Godhead. While God is incomprehensible, it is equally true that the Scriptures represent God as revealing Himself to man and that a sufficient limited measure of knowledge of God is put within the reach of human beings. We cannot comprehend God, and yet we can truly know Him.

 

Each of these persons of the Trinity possess all the qualities of deity; omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence, that the others do but in God’s plan of salvation they each provide a different emphasis of ministry to the saints. While our relationship is with the ONE God, we have a triune relationship.

 

While God acts within and upon His creation, He shows special attention to those who belong to His family. While God ministers to and is interested in the activities of all mankind, He is especially protective and involved with those that call Him Lord. It will be my attempt in this homily to cover some of the specific activities and actions of God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit regarding ministry to those who have been redeemed by His Son Jesus Christ. Believers are special to God because they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. They have the Holy Spirit living within them. Non-believers do not. They submit to God the Father as their spiritual Father and seek to bring Him honor and glory. Non-Christians do not. Because of this special relationship, there are specific ways that God the Father, Son and Spirit minister to each Believer.

 

God the Father

When I think of God the Father I first think about the providence of God. What is providence you ask? Providence is the continual care that God exercises over the universe He has created. This includes preserving and maintaining the order in the universe as well as the function of society as a whole. It also includes the intervention of God upon and into His creation to maintain His plan for mankind. Psalms 33:13-19 states, “From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth — he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.” Within this verse we see God’s active involvement in all of life of every single person, government and society, but we also see His special interest in those “who fear Him.” He loves, cares for, protects, heals and watches out for those who fear and love Him.

 

Acts 17:24-28 further explains some of this concept when it says, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’”

 

Again we see how God the Father influences all that exists. He gives life to every living thing and determines many details of the actions of men and women. But we also see that God has a plan that revolves around saving individuals from their sin and bringing them into His family so that He can minister to them. This enables His servants to be able to serve Him and bring Him glory.

 

In 2 Corinthians 1:2-4 Paul opens his letter to the Corinthians with a statement that defines our relationship with God the Father. He states, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.” Here Paul tells us that we have a spiritual Father, God the Father. But God the Father is also the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is difficult to understand and hard to explain but let me try to briefly explain.

 

While God the Father was Jesus’ Father, this does not diminish the deity of His Son Jesus Christ. This is a representation of the relationship they have and does not influence their essence, character or nature. Jesus is just as much God as God the Father. While we frail and limited human beings call God our Father as redeemed human beings, Jesus Christ calls God His Father as His perfect, holy, sinless Son. Jesus Christ and God the Father are ONE in nature, yet different persons. Have I lost you there? This is the incomprehensible doctrine of the Trinity. While Jesus modeled what our relationship could be with God the Father, because we are created beings we can never be God as Jesus was. The important thing regarding the ministry of God the Father to us in this verse is that God the Father is a compassionate God full of comfort for all situations. He works through His providential plans to work in our lives to bring glory to Himself and help us become whom we were called to be, saints serving the living Christ.

 

As I think about our Heavenly Father I remember the chorus of a classic hymn which sums up how God the Father ministers to us as Christians. “Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!”

 

God the Son, Jesus Christ

Jesus Chris ministers to us in several ways. His sacrifice on the cross opened the way for us to have an intimate relationship with our Creator. No matter how sin-ridden our lives may be, through accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior we can call God our Father. Jesus’ work of redemption did not end at the cross. He continues to this day defending us and justifying us before God the Father. 1 John 2:1-2 tells us, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” This verse tells us that we may receive all sorts of encouragement and instruction so we may not sin, but that there will be times when we will fall. During those times, we can ask for forgiveness and Jesus will continue to defend us, based on our commitment to Him as our Lord and Savior. Satan the great accuser may also seek to defame us and accuse us of all sorts of failures, but Jesus defends us if we truly belong to Him.

 

Often when we sin we become depressed and guilt-ridden because of how we have quenched the Holy Spirit, dishonored our Lord and disobeyed our spiritual Father. But we must remember that Jesus understands our predicament. Hebrews 4:15-16 states, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Jesus knows the struggles we face because He also faced them. He never sinned, but He knows our most intimate and secret emotions. Nothing is hidden from Him. We can know for a fact that we can approach God to ask forgiveness because Jesus is there by our side. We can know that we are still a child of God, because Jesus made it possible to stand before God through the payment He made with His life and His victory over death through His resurrection.

 

This is a precious ministry that Jesus Christ performs for us each and every day. Even when we aren’t aware of it, Jesus continues to be our advocate. Our faith rests on the continuing ministry of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

God the Spirit, Holy Spirit

The third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is a most precious gift given to Believers. When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior AND Lord, the Holy Spirit is given to that person to live within their soul. Jesus specifically spoke of this several times to emphasize that when He left this earth He would not leave His followers alone. John 14:16-17 states, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

 

The function of the Holy Spirit is multifaceted. John 14:26 says, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” So the Holy Spirit ministers to us by teaching us those things that Jesus taught as well as all those truths contained in scripture, both the Old and New Testaments.

 

The Holy Spirit also verifies and testifies of who Jesus was, what His ministry was, and how He can save anyone from their sins. John 15:26 states, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”

 

While many of Jesus’ followers did not want Him to go away, Jesus knew it was necessary for the Holy Spirit could minister to Believers in a unique way that He could not. John 16:7-11 reveals this when it says, “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” Here we see that the Holy Spirit works on the hearts of men and women to convict them of sin. He can strive with people to draw them to Christ. He seeks to work in ways that will bring a non-believer to Jesus and acknowledge that they need to accept Him as their Savior. But the Holy Spirit also convicts Believers of sin. He resides within each Christian and holds us accountable to the truth of God. He strives to conform us to the mind of Christ. When we rebel and refuse to listen to Him we grieve Him (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

 

In these portions of scripture the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Counselor or Comforter. This best describes the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the Christian for He will intercede for us on our behalf. Romans 8:26-27 speaks of this when it says, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Sometimes we are so overwhelmed by circumstances or our emotions we can’t even bring ourselves to know how to pray. During these times the Holy Spirit ministers to us, intercedes for us and comforts us so that we can fellowship with Him and our Heavenly Father.

 

What a blessing it is to be a Child of God, to have Him as our Father, to have Jesus as our Savior and to have the Holy Spirit as our Counselor. The ministry that the Trinity provides to Christians is one of the most precious benefits of knowing Christ as Lord.

The Holy Trinity, Can We Fathom the Person of God?

 

What is the Holy Trinity?

What does this term Trinity mean in Christianity?

 

The Trinity has been defined in several ways. One definition is: Within the nature of the ONE God are three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each of these three persons shares the same qualities and all make up the ONE God we serve and worship as Christians. Others define it as: God is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.

 

We must understand that while the word Trinity is not mentioned specifically in God’s Word, it is a theological concept that is supported by scripture. It is a doctrine which as been supported and upheld by Christians down through history.

 

This doctrine or belief of the Trinity came about as Christians properly interpreted scripture and saw the message that God was conveying about Himself throughout the entire Bible. When we properly interpret scripture, we always must understand that verses are interpreted in relationship to the verses that surround them. The verses in question must be seen in light of the chapters that surround them. The chapters must be evaluated in accordance with the theme of the book that contains them and the book being studied is seen in the context of the entire message and theme of scripture as a whole.

 

Doctrines of the Christian faith developed as Christians carefully, accurately, properly and with the leading of the Holy Spirit weighed out what various passages meant according to the guidelines mentioned above.

 

Unfortunately through history, various individuals and groups have inappropriately interpreted scripture to suit their own beliefs or to justify their sins. Often the Doctrine of the Trinity has been questioned when people have been deceived by their own understanding or worse, Satan himself.

 

Following are truths that are backed by scripture that give us some idea of how Christians came about understanding the nature of God. It is not an exhaustive list, but will provide you with some evidence that supports the doctrine of the Trinity.

 

The source of eternal life comes from each of them: God the Father (Rom. 6:23), Jesus (John 10:28) and the Holy Spirit (Gal. 6:8).

 

We are the temple of each of them: God the Father (I Cor. 6:17), Jesus (Eph. 3:14‑17), and the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 3:16).

 

Christ was resurrected by each of them: God the Father (Acts 3:26,17:31), Jesus (John 2:19‑21), and the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:11).  

 

Divine titles are given to each of them: God the Father (Gen. 17:1), Jesus (John 20:28,Acts 3:15), and the Holy Spirit (John 15:26).

 

Each are omnipotent (all‑powerful): God the Father (Jeremiah 32:17), Jesus (Rev. 1:8,Matt. 28:18), and the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35).

 

Each is omnipresent (all‑present): God the Father (Jeremiah 23:24), Jesus (Eph. 1:21), the Holy Spirit (Psalms 139:7‑10).

 

All are omniscient (all‑knowing): God the

 

Father (Acts 15:18), Jesus (John 21:17), the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 2:10‑11).

 

Each is true: God the Father (John 7:28), Jesus (John 1:14), and the Holy Spirit (I John 5:6,John 16:13).

 

Each participated in creation: God the Father (Neh. 9:6), Jesus (Col. 1:16), the Holy Spirit (Job 26:13).

 

Each is referred to in scripture as God: God the Father (John 17:3, I Cor. 8:6, Eph. 1:3, I Peter 1:3), Jesus (Isa. 9:6, John 1:1‑3, 5:18, 8:58, 10:33, 20:28, Rom. 9:5, Col. 1:15‑17, Heb. 1:8‑13, the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3‑5, 2 Cor. 3:17‑18).

 

There are also various scriptural references where the Father, Son and Spirit are mentioned or manifested together.

 

At the baptism of Christ we see the Son of God, Jesus, being baptized. We also see the Spirit of God descending as a dove. Also manifested is a voice from heaven above, God the Father, stating saying “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16‑17)

 

Another reference is in Matthew 28:19 where Christ commands us to baptize those we lead to salvation in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost. This act of baptism is an act of worship towards each person of the Trinity as well as commitment to each of the three persons of the Trinity. God does not share his glory or worship with anyone; therefore this act of baptism is done in the name of God, the Trinity, including the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

The apostle Paul refers to the Trinity when he states in I Corinthians 12:4‑6 that we have the same Spirit, the same Lord and the same God. There may be differences in the spiritual gifts we have or different kinds of ministry or works we perform, but we have only ONE God. 

 

Scripture teaches everywhere, and very plainly, that there is only ONE God. It does this explicitly and emphatically. But scripture also is very clear that within the nature of this God we serve, there are three divine persons. It is from this hard‑to‑understand twofold teaching that the doctrine of the Trinity comes. This doctrine is not tritheism or three gods. We must take care in our struggles with understanding the person of God we do not mold God in our image so that our small minds can fathom the mystery of His person.

 

I believe the difficulty we have with understanding the person of God expressed in the doctrine of the Trinity does not lie within the doctrine itself. The problem lies within us. We are finite created beings attempting to understand the God of creation. The One who has existed for all eternity and has no beginning or end. It is not surprising that as we attempt to understand who God is that we are overwhelmed.

 

Several scriptures tell us that it is difficult if not impossible to fully understand the person of God.

 

Job 11:7

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?”

 

Psalms 145:3

“Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”

 

I pray, as you struggle with understanding who God is, that you will remember that 1 Corinthians 13:12 “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” When we get to heaven we will hopefully have a better chance of understanding the God who saved us, the God who has prepared a place for us, the God who loves us. I wouldn’t be surprised though, that even in heaven, we might be found walking the streets of gold, scratching our heads, amazed at the person of God, attempting to fully understand who He is.

 

What a mighty God we serve!