THE GODHEAD (TRINITY)
1. I once attended about 2 catechism classes in a popular denomination.
2. The minister for this group asked me to memorize the apostle’s creed.
3. This statement of belief is fairly common in a variety of groups.
4. The opening words of this creed are:
5. “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth.”
6. “and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.”
7. “Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit.”
8. This creed affirms that there are three members of the godhead.
9. At the time, I didn’t know a lot about God.
10. With the passage of time my knowledge increased and I have found passages like Acts 4:26.
11. Here the apostles spoke of religious leaders who had “gathered together” against God.
12. Jesus was sent into the world but religious officials opposed heaven’s plan.
13. The opposition to heaven’s plan is described in an unusual way.
14. The opponents were against the Lord.
15. And against His anointed.
16. The inspired apostles drew a distinction between the Lord and His anointed.
17. Here the word Lord applies to the Father.
18. The word anointed refers to Jesus.
THIS PASSAGE IS ONE OF THE VERSES THAT INDICATES THAT THERE IS A GODHEAD.
A. That is, God may be thought of as a plural being.
B. There is a sense in which God is one and a sense in which He is not one.
C. In the Old Testament (Deut. 6:4) we are told that God is “one.”
D. Paul repeated this point in Gal. 3:20.
E. In both testaments it is affirmed that there is only one God.
2. Some have understood this to mean that He is absolutely one.
3. I am holding up one pen.
4. In my hands is one pen and only one pen.
5. It has been proposed that this what God meant when He described Himself as one.
6. This is a possibility.
7. There are times when the word one means one and one only.
8. There are other cases where the word one does not mean an absolute one.
9. In Mt. 19:5 Jesus spoke of a husband and wife becoming “one flesh.”
10. Here is an instance of the word one being used in a different sense.
11. Jesus used this numeral to describe unity, a oneness of harmony and agreement.
12. In Mt. 19 the oneness is not absolute.
13. In Acts 4:32 it is said that Christians were of “one heart and soul.”
14. What does this expression mean?
15. Like Mt. 19:5, it is a description of unity, togetherness, and harmony.
16. Other examples of how one can consist of more than are found throughout scripture.
A. Ex. 24:3 describes people (more than one) who spoke with “one voice.”
B. An army (Josh. 9:2) fought with “one accord.”
C. False prophets all spoke with “one voice” (1 Kgs. 22:13).
D. Another passage that demonstrates this point is Jer. 5:5 – READ
E. Zeph. 3:9 speaks of serving God with “one consent.”
F. In Lk. 14:18 excuses makers started to make excuses with “one consent.”
17. These passages prove that the word one does not always mean an absolute one.
A. Since we have two possible explanations for the word one, what about God?
B. Is God “one” in the sense that He is an indivisible one?
C. That is, is He “one” to the exclusion of all else.
D. Or, is God “one” in the sense that there are other parts to Him?
E. Are there, shall we say, other personalities to God that work together?
18. Acts 4:26 answers this question.
19. There is God (the Father) and the “anointed” (Jesus).
20. This passage affirms that there are two parts to God.
A. If you still have your finger in Acts 4, let’s look at verse 25 – READ.
B. Here we read about the Holy Spirit.
C. In verse 26 there is a reference to the Father and Son; verse 25 tells us about the Holy Spirit.
21. I want to back up a little more and make the point even more complete.
22. Let’s look at verse 24.
23. The first Christians spoke to “God.”
24. We know from Deut. 6 that God is “one.”
25. How is God one?
26. According to verse 25, the one God is made up of the Holy Spirit.
27. In verse 26 there is another part to Him (“Lord”—the Father).
28. A third part to Him is at the end of verse 26 (“His Anointed”)—Jesus.
29. The early Christians preached a message that said God is one.
30. However, they showed that God is not an absolute one.
31. There are three, shall we say, three personalities (parts) to God.
32. God is composed of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
A. Each part of the Godhead is co-equal (as important as the others) and co-eternal.
B. The Father is equal to the Son.
C. The Son is equal to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is equal to the Son and the Father.
D. The Father has existed for as long as the Son.
E. The Holy Spirit has existed for as long as the Father.
F. This means that all three members of the Godhead are worthy of worship.
33. The unity of the Godhead is seen in different parts of the Bible.
34. At Jesus baptism we find that all three were present.
35. This is not surprising.
36. If these three are as united as I have proposed, this should be expected.
37. In giving the great commission (Mt. 28:18-20), these three are mentioned again.
A. Why did the Lord include all three of them in the great commissions?
B. The answer is again found in the word one.
C. The members of the Godhead are close to each other. They work together.
D. Each member of the godhead had a part in redeeming man.
E. The Father made the plan and executed it.
F. Jesus carried out the sacrificial part of the plan on the earth.
G. The Holy Spirit has made the plan known.
H. Thus, it is no wonder that all three are remembered at baptism.
38. Being immersed into these three persons means that we are creating a relationship with them.
39. You may know that there are religious groups that immerse people three times.
40. They dip once into the Father, once into the Son, and once into the Holy Spirit.
41. This is an unfortunate practice.
42. Not only is this practice not mentioned in the Bible, consider what it does.
43. This procedure minimizes the great unity between the members of the Godhead.
44. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are so closely joined together they are called “one.”
45. If we immerse someone once, they are put into a relationship with all three of them.
46. Three separate immersions draws a distinction between them that is foreign to the scriptures.
47. WHEN
WE UNDERSTAND THE KIND OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE THREE MEMBERS OF THE
GODHEAD, A SLEW OF PASSAGES IN THE BIBLE TAKE ON BRAND NEW MEANING.
A. Let’s go back to Acts 2.
B. In verse 24 of Acts 2 Peter said that Jesus was raised from the dead by God.
C. This is a reference to God the Father.
D. A related thought is the material in verse 27.
E. This is the passage I want to read for and with you – READ.
48. Jesus knew that the Father would not leave His soul in Hades.
49. How did He know that?
50. He and the Father are one. They are tightly bound together.
51. In life we sometimes see great examples of love and commitment.
A. Soldiers develop close bonds with fellow members of the military.
B. During battles men have refused to leave their comrades.
C. Soldiers have died trying to go back and save someone they loved.
52. The Godhead has a relationship like this only it is much stronger.
53. For this reason Jesus had “hope” (26b).
54. He knew that He would be raised from the dead because the Father would not leave Him there.
55. The love of the Father was too great for Him to be abandoned.
A. Another passage that takes on new meaning is Mt. 26:53.
B. Jesus said He could call on His father who would send 12 legions of angels.
C. If He wanted rescued, another member of the Godhead would come to His aid.
D. When we look at the relationship in the Godhead, what may be said about this angelic help?
56. We find that the bond is so close the Father would have surely sent every angel heaven had.
57. These two are so close that are classified as one.
58. In Jn. 11:42 Jesus said that the Father “always heard Him.”
59. He was absolutely sure of this.
A. How could the Lord be so confident about this?
B. How could He make such a statement?
C. He knew that He was part of the Godhead.
D. He, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, were and still are “one.”
60. In Jn. 8:29 Jesus said that the Father had “not left Him alone.”
61. The Father was with Him, as was the Holy Spirit, because they are “one.”
62. This material becomes even more important when we relate it to us.
63. At the present time, what does Jesus do? He is a mediator, 1 Tim. 2:5.
A. There is a religious group that teaches that Mary is our mediator.
B. It is argued that a Son will listen to his mother, so Mary is useful in mediation.
C. Consider this argument in light of what we have learned.
64. Jesus is the mediator and He pleads our case before the Father.
65. What kind of relationship do Jesus and the Father have?
66. They are one. They are on the same page and completely unified.
67. If Jesus is our mediator, and He is in harmony with the Father, what does this mean?
68. It means that He can and He will successfully intercede for us.
69. This means that we should want Jesus to plead our case and no one else.
70. Anyone who understands the Godhead should have no interest in Mary.
71. If this woman did serve in this position (and she does not), she would have few qualifications.
72. Jesus, however, is completely qualified.
73. What we are looking at helps explain other texts.
74. In the New Testament we read about Jesus at God’s right hand.
A. If the relationship between the Godhead is as I have described,
B. Where else would the Lord be? This is a fitting picture.
C. From time to time we see couples who have recently married.
D. It is not uncommon for newlyweds to sit close together.
E. The New Testament pictures the closeness of the Godhead in different ways.
F. One of the ways this is designated is the “sitting at the right hand” expression.
G. This wording describes closeness, intimacy, familiarity, and unity.
75. The unity in the godhead is also seen in the creation.
76. From the Godhead we hear, “Let us make man.”
77. The members of the Godhead worked together.
78. The Father did not make the creation and later show it to the Son and Holy Spirit.
79. Each member of the Godhead contributed to make what exists.
80. IT IS DIFFICULT TO ILLUSTRATE, IN SECULAR TERMS, THE GODHEAD. SOME HAVE COME UP WITH WORD TRINITY, THOUGH THIS TERM IS NOT IN THE BIBLE.
A. Others have said the Godhead is like the government.
B. There is the President, Supreme Court, and Congress.
C. All these things are of the government—they are one—but they are also distinct.
D. The God head has been compared to the mind.
E. We have one mind but it is composed of will, memory, and understanding.
81. What works for me is light. God describes Himself as light.
82. When we look at light, we see one color just as there is one God.
83. However, we know that light is composed of three primary colors.
84. These colors are distinct, yet they blend together to form a single color.
85. So it is with God.
86. There is one God, and He is composed of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
87. This one God says that we are joined to Him through baptism.
88. Immersion in water puts us into a relationship the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
89. There are not three God’s, but there is a godhead which has three distinct personalities.
90. Tonight each member of the Godhead wants to be on our side.
91. For this to occur we must be a Christian, and we must be dedicated to God.