The Glory of the Holy Trinity: Part 1 Old Testament
As we continue our pursuit of knowing and experiencing the Glory of God we must remind ourselves that our Character is Key to a Clear Vision of God! “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; (26) With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. (Ps. 18:25-26; ).
We Must prepare ourselves to know & experience God in Spirit & Truth! One of the clearest lenses through which to behold God is the lens of HUMILITY! (Psalm 34:18; 51:17; 138:6; James 4:6; I Peter 5:5) “For thus saith the high & lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high & holy place, with him also that is of a contrite & humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, & to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15; 66:2;2 Chron. 33:12-13)
Saint Patrick was a humble man whom God used to transform pagan Ireland with the Gospel. He had a simple but effective way to illustrate the Trinity. He would hold up a shamrock (3 leaf clover) and challenge his hearers: “Is it one leaf or three?” “It is both one leaf and three,” they said. “And so it is with God” he would conclude.
Illustration: The Trinitarian God is way above, beyond, and outside our 3 dimensional world! (He is Transcendent). If you use only 1 dimension you can only draw a straight line. If you use 2 dimensions you can draw a figure: a square – made up of 4 straight lines. If you use 3 dimensions you can build a solid body: a cube – made up of 6 squares. As you advance to more complicated dimensions you don’t leave behind what you had on the simpler levels – but you combine them in new ways.
We must acknowledge our great Nescience! (ignorance). We can fully comprehend Dimensions that are below us but it is impossible to fully comprehend Dimensions above us. Thus the Revelation of a Trinitarian God who transcends our 3 demensional world could not have been thought up by men apart from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Try to fully understand the Trinity & you will lose your mind. But if you deny the Trinity, you will lose your soul. John Wesley said: “Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the Triune God!” Thus faith is essential!
Everyone lives by faith:
Atheists live by faith in natural laws. They Believe everything came from nothing by chance alone; then by time & chance eventually evolved into everything that exists. Thus there is NO Design; NO Designer; NO Purpose; NO Meaning; NO God – NO peace! The Universe Came from Nothing! Really? So many people have been lead to abandon reason & common sense. You can be super smart & still be a fool (Ps. 14:1; 53:1). Everyone knows “Nothing comes from nothing: nothing ever could!”
Christians live by faith in An Omnipotent Creator. He is the best explanation for the incredibly miraculous fine tuning of everything in Creation. God created everything including natural Laws (Gen. 1:1). God gives us an eternal purpose & profound meaning in life.
CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN THE GOD OF THE BIBLE WHO HAS REVEALED HIMSELF AS A HOLY TRINITY
No one pretends to fully understand the mystery of the Trinity. But throughout history the Church believed the Bible clearly teaches God is Trinitarian in nature. This is a Diagram used by the Early Church.
God is 1 Divine Being manifested as 3 Persons. I am 1 Human Being & manifest as 1 Person. Divinity occupies a dimension that transcends our Humanity. In His essential nature God will always be incomprehensible to us (Transcendant). How can the finite comprehend the Infinite? But we can experience a loving relationship with this God!
GOD’S 2 GREAT REVELATIONS OF HIS TRINITARIAN NATURE
His General Revelation: in Creation. His Special Revelation:
In God’s Written Word – the Holy Bible and In God’s Living Word – the LORD Jesus Christ. Our Thoughts about God must be guided by these Revelations of God Himself – not our own imaginations or ideas.
GOD’S CREATION REFLECTS HIS TRINITARIAN NATURE
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power & Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20)
Genesis. 1:1-2 says: “In the beginning God created the heaven & the earth … & the Spirit of God moved.” God reveals the creation of time (beginning); of space (the heavens); & matter (the earth) (energy is a form of matter – John 6:63).
Look at the Amazing Imprint of the Trinity on Creation:
UNIVERSE – Space – Matter – Time; SPACE – Length – Width – Depth; MATTER – Liquid – Solid – Gas; TIME – Past – Present – Future; KINGDOMS – Animal – Vegetable – Mineral; ELECTRICITY – Positive – Negative – Neutral; GODHEAD – Father – Son – Holy Spirit
MAN – Soul – Body – Spirit (I Thess. 5:23); RACE – Caucasian (Japheth) -Negroid (Ham) – Oriental (Shem). The Bible teaches only 1 Race but it is Trinitarian in nature (a U.N. study agrees). CONDITION – Lost (Hell) – Saved (Earth) – Savior (Heaven).
The scientific Law of Causality states that “No effect can be greater than its cause.” A Universe of intelligible complex effects, including living systems & conscious personalities is proof of an intelligent, complex, living, conscious Person as its Cause!
Veiled Revelations of God’s Trinitarian Nature in the O.T.
It is important to understand Progressive Revelation in the Bible. Every major Doctrine begins in seed form in Genesis; grows & enlarges throughout the O.T.; comes to full fruition in the N.T.. The full glory comes in & through Jesus Christ (Col. 2:3; I Cor. 1:30; 2 Tim. 3:15-17). God’s Trinitarian Nature is not 3 separate parts but a Transcendent Unity God’s substance is indivisible. He has no parts but is single in His unitary being. The harmony of His being is not the result of a perfect balance of parts but of the absence of parts.
See the Trinity hinted at in Deuteronomy 6:4 (Sh’ma Israel): “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: The LORD our God (Elohim) is literally “the LORD our Gods.” The word “one” (echad) refers to a compound unity as in Gen. 2:24 where the man & his wife “shall be one (echad) flesh.” The Hebrew word for an absolute “one” is “yachid” (Genesis 22:2).
A Mysterious hint of the Trinity is seen in Plural Pronouns used of the 1 true God:
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Gen 1:26). “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good & evil” (Gen 3:22). “Us” must refer to the plurality in the Godhead because God does not take council from anyone (Isa. 40:13-14; Rom. 11:34-36). At the Tower of Babel God said: “let us go down, & confound their language” (Gen 11:7). Isaiah heard God say: “Whom shall I send, & who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8)
The Name Jehovah is applied to 2 Persons
“Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven” (Gen 19:24). One “LORD” was on earth with Abraham (Gen. 18:1, 13, 17, 20, 22, 33)
The other “LORD” was in heaven.
THE TRINITY IS REVEALED IN SPECIFIC SCRIPTURES
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him” (Isa 42:1)
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek” (Isa 61:1).
“…Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.” (Isa 48:16) Should be read in its context of 48:1-18. The one speaking is “the God of Israel” “the LORD of hosts” (vs. 2) & “the first & the last” (vs. 12)
The Aaronic Blessing is a Profound Revelation of the Trinitarian God “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, & be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, & give thee peace.
There is an Amazing Revelation in the Passover “Matzo Tosh” (the linen bag that holds 3 pieces of matzo). It was referred to as the “echad” [the one; the unity] (Sam Nadler).
God’s Trinitarian nature is a profound & thrilling mystery
Unity & Diversity are found in the community of the Trinity.
God is key to resolve the great struggle we face between races, cultures, & genders. God provides a model for a community of love & dignity that honors personality, individuality & diversity. Faith in the one true Trinitarian God makes a big difference in how life turns out!
The Trinity is a community of Love (I John 4:8). God created us by love, in love & for Love. “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; & every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1John 4:7-8, 16).
The Trinity is Key to understanding Family. The Father, Son & Holy Spirit can empower us succeed in our Family Relationships & Learn to live in loving community with God’s very diverse children!