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Doctrine of God 0003 - Lesson 3
Attached Audio:
- THE NATURE OF GOD (Continued)
- The Doctrine of the Trinity Illustrated (Continued)
- Illustrations of the Trinity (Continued)
- The nature of man is probably the most powerful biblical illustration of the Trinity.
- Man was made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27 [26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
[27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
See All...). Very likely, the "image" has to do with the basic form of man's being and "likeness" has to do with basic qualities such as a sense of justice, an appreciation of beauty, an understanding of love, and other things. - Therefore, the image of God in man probably refers to man being a three-in-one being just as God is a three-in-one being. Man is made up of spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
See All...). - The body is that part of man which is seen. This matches Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the only person of the Godhead to be manifest in the flesh.
- The soul of man is the center of control and matches much of what is said in scripture about the Father.
- The spirit of man matches the Spirit of God.
- This illustration is not perfect. Man is certainly NOT three persons in one being. However, his body, soul, and spirit have some form of independent existence.
- The body: death occurs when the spirit and soul leave the body. Yet, men commonly refer to a person being buried in a certain place--though it is just his body. And people speak of how good someone looks at the funeral home.
- The soul: the Bible refers to the souls as being the people themselves. In Revelation 6:9-10 [9] And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
[10] And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
See All..., the souls of those who have been slain are seen and they cry unto God for vengeance. In Luke 16:24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
See All..., the soul of the rich man in hell speaks and mentions his tongue. - The spirit: the spirits of men also have some sort of independent existence. By comparing Ecclesiastes 3:21Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
See All... with Ecclesiastes 12:7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
See All..., we see that the spirits of men return to God in heaven after they die. - Yet, even though each part of man has a form of existence apart from the other parts, man is not fully complete unless all three parts are combined into one person.
- By application, although the three persons of the Godhead seem to operate separately and distinctly, they work in perfect harmony and are one.
- There was a time when they separated. The Son proceeded forth from the Father (John 8:42Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
See All...) and the Spirit proceeded forth from the Father and the Son (John 15:26But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
See All...). - There will also be a time when they come back together in full unity. 1 Corinthians 15:28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
See All... states, "And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." - In the same way, the three parts of man may be separated for a time. But there will also be a time when the three will all be joined together again. This is called the resurrection.
- The Relationships of the Trinity
- Their mutual indwelling
- “Loraine Boettner wrote: ‘The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can be distinguished, but they cannot be separated; for they each possess the same identical numerical substance or essence. They do not merely exist alongside of each other, as did Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin, but they permeate and interpenetrate each other, are in and through each other.’ He further stated: ‘What the one knows, the others know; what the one desires, the others desire; and what the one wills, the others will. Independence and self-existence are not attributes of the individual persons, but of the Triune God.’” –from The Virgin Birth by Robert Gromacki (p.25).
- The scriptural teaching
- The Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father (John 10:38But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
See All...; John 14:10-11 [10] Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. [11] Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
See All..., 20; John 17:21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
See All...). - To see the Son is to see the Father (John 1:18No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
See All...; John 14:9Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
See All...) because the Son and the Father are one (John 10:30I and my Father are one.
See All...). - Both the Father and the Son are in the Spirit and the Spirit is in them (Romans 8:9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
See All...). - When Jesus went away, He sent the Spirit to take His place (John 16:7Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
See All...). Yet, at the same time, Jesus came to the disciples in the Spirit (John 14:18I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
See All...; Romans 8:9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
See All...). - Their mutual glorification
- The Father glorifies the Son (John 8:54Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
See All...; John 12:23And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
See All...; John 17:1These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
See All...) - The Son glorifies the Father (John 13:31-32 [31] Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
[32] If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
See All...; John 17:4I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
See All...) - The Spirit glorifies the Son (John 16:14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
See All...) - Their mutual cooperation
- “The Persons of the Godhead, being one, have one will. They work always together, and never one smallest act is done by one without the instant acquiescence of the other two. Every act of God is accomplished by the Trinity in Unity. Here, of course, we are being driven by necessity to conceive of God in human terms. We are thinking of God by analogy with man, and the result must fall short of ultimate truth; yet if we are to think of God at all, we must do it by adapting creature-thoughts and creature-words to the Creator. It is a real if understandable error to conceive of Persons of the Godhead as conferring with one another and reaching agreement by interchange of thought as humans do. It has always seemed to me that Milton introduces as element of weakness into his celebrated Paradise Lost when he presents the Persons of the Godhead conversing with each other about the redemption of the human race.” –from The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer (p.28).
- This mutual cooperation can be seen in almost all of the great works of God. See above for fuller notes on these works:
- Creation (see Genesis 1:1-3 [1] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
[2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
[3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
See All...) - Revelation
- Incarnation
- Crucifixion
- Resurrection
- Redemption
- Preservation
- Their structural relationship
- The procession passages: although there is complete equality of being and attributes among the three persons of the Godhead, there is a predetermined order of authority between them. This is clearly seen in two verses in John that speak of one proceeding out of the other.
- The Son “proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me” (John 8:42Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
See All...). - The divine nature of things is that a son is to submit to his father.
- The fact that the first two persons of the Godhead are revealed to us as Father and Son anticipates such a relationship.
- The Son was clearly sent to earth (given to the world) by the Father (John 3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
See All...; John 7:28-29 [28] Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. [29] But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.
See All...; John 12:49For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
See All...; John 17:8For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
See All..., 25; Galatians 4:4But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
See All...; 1 John 4:9-10 [9] In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. [10] Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
See All...). - While on earth, Jesus fully submitted Himself to the will of the Father (Mark 14:36And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
See All...; John 4:34Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
See All...; John 5:30I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
See All...; John 6:38For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
See All...). - At the end of time, the Son who proceeded from the Father will return to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:26-28 [26] The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
[27] For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
[28] And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
See All...). - The Spirit proceeded from the Father and is sent forth by the Son (John 15:26But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
See All...). - Careful reading of the scriptures will demonstrate that the Spirit of God does the work of God.
- The work of the Spirit in relation to the Son is seen in John 16:13-14 [13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
[14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
See All.... - He will not speak of Himself.
- He will only speak what He hears.
- He will glorify the Son.
- Note: the Spirit fulfills the work of the Father and the Son and glorifies them without glorifying Himself.
- Note: this proceeding forth does not indicate any sort of creation or bringing into being. The three persons of the Trinity are co-eternal in their existence and are without beginning. However, this does indicate that the separate works of the three persons in time is different in some ways to their relationship to each other in eternity. They have not changed, being the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
See All...). However, the work of redemption gave varying duties to the three persons; duties in which they work always for the same purposes and toward the same goals. - The Father, Son, and Spirit cooperate in their work in a way can be generalized by considering some carefully placed prepositions.
- 1 Corinthians 8:6But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
See All... states: “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” - The Father is the One “of whom are all things.” He is the source and the origin of the works.
- The Son is the One “by whom are all things.” He is the One who executes the work.
- Romans 11:36For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
See All... states: “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” Note: although the persons of the Godhead are not directly mentioned, this is an excellent description of their actions. - The phrase, “of him,” would match the Father as seen in “of whom” in 1 Corinthians 8:6But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
See All.... All things proceed, or come forth, from Him. - The phrase, “through him,” is similar to “by whom” and would look to the work of the Son. Both “through” and “by” indicate process.
- The phrase, “to him,” indicates purpose or completion. The work of the Spirit tends to enable or to adorn the work of the other persons of the Godhead.
- Conclusion of this study
- The Father originates.
- The Son executes.
- The Spirit enables.
- The example of creation.
- The Father was the source of creation. Therefore, Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All... and Exodus 20:11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
See All... refer to Him. - The Son carried out the work of creation as seen in various scriptures (John 1:3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
See All...; Colossians 1:16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
See All...; Hebrews 1:2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
See All...). Ephesians 3:9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
See All... speaks of “God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” - The Spirit enabled and adorned creation.
- The Spirit moved on the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
See All...) - The Spirit “garnished” the heavens (Job 26:13By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
See All...). - The Spirit renews the face of the earth (Psalm 104:30Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
See All...) - The example of the work of salvation. In The Doctrine of God (p.264), Herman Bavinck states:
- “The good pleasure, foreknowledge, election, power, love, and kingdom pertain to the Father (Matthew 6:13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
See All...; Matthew 11:26Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
See All...; John 3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
See All...; Romans 8:29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
See All...; Ephesians 1:9Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
See All...; 1 Peter 1:2Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
See All...).” - “Reconciliation, mediatorship, redemption, grace, wisdom, and righteousness pertain to the Son (Matthew 1:21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
See All...; 1 Corinthians 1:30But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
See All...; Ephesians 1:10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
See All...; 1 Timothy 2:5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
See All...; 1 Peter 1:2Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
See All...; 1 John 2:2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
See All...).” - “Regeneration, rejunenation, sanctification, and communion pertain to the Holy Spirit (John 3:5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
See All...; John 14:16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
See All...; Romans 5:5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
See All...; Romans 8:15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
See All...; Romans 14:17For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
See All...; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 [21] Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; [22] Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
See All...; 1 Peter 1:2Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
See All...; 1 John 5:6This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
See All...).” - One way to look at it is to say that the Father originates, the Son accomplishes, and the Spirit completes. In salvation, the Father planned redemption and sent the Son, the Son became the Saviour and saved the lost, and the Spirit gives the believer new life through regeneration and enables him through sanctification. The three always work together to accomplish the same things but their specific actions may not be the same.