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Zeroing in on One – Deuteronomy 6:4 Definition of the Trinity: Within the 1 Being that is God, there exist eternally 3 coequal and coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 1 being, 3 persons. A historic mathematical formula has been devised to demonstrate the Trinity: One + One + One = ONE. We come to our final sermon in the series entitled Zeroing in on One which is a study of Deuteronomy 6. I have been encouraging you to read the first five books of the Bible in 2007. Today, ends our study of the Pentateuch. The final verse we will look at is Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” This verse is massively important. As we saw last week, Jesus quotes this verse in Mark in response to the OT expert’s question on what is the most important commandment. In addition, this verse has been quoted multiple times every day in Jewish prayers. The importance of the truth this verse contains cannot be overstated. The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most important doctrines of the Christian faith. A deeper understanding of the Trinity gives us greater understanding of God Himself. “The doctrine of the Trinity is the most immense of all the doctrines of religion. It is the foundation of theology. Take out of the New Testament the person of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and there is no God left.” Why is an ever increasing appreciation of the Trinity so important? To grow in your understanding of the Trinity is to see God revealed before your eyes. To add to your knowledge more of the Trinity is to experience new glories of God. Life Principle: If you know me only as a pastor, then you know I love God and that God has called me to study His word and preach it to his people. But, if that is all you know of me, then you barely know me. If you also know me as a husband to Rachel, then you know I love the most amazing women that God could have ever blessed me with. You would know that she is way out of my league in beauty, intelligence…pretty much in every way. But, if you only know me as a pastor and husband, then you don’t know much about me. If you also know me as a father to my two daughters, then you have seen me become putty in a child’s hands and you will begin to see one of my greatest passions to see young children grow in their love for Jesus Christ. This truth is obvious to all of us – the more we know about someone, the more there is to love. The greater our knowledge is about who a person is, our love is given the opportunity to grow proportionately to our knowledge. Conversely, if we don’t know much about a person, then how can we say we love them? One thing I am not looking forward to is my daughters coming home one day saying how much in love they are with the boy they met for the first time. How can you love him, you don’t even know him. Similarly, how can we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength if we barely know him? The greater we know our God in the truth of the Trinity, the more capacity we will have to love God. But, why is the trinity so important? Why is it essential to know that God is 1 being and three persons? Is it possible that if we fail to know the triune God, then we may fail to know the one true God? Yes! If we get the trinity messed up, then we don’t worship the one true God. Why? Because you can only worship what you know. Throughout history, many people have messed up the trinity. When we say they messed it up, we mean they worship someone other than the one true God. There is little room for error when it comes to the trinity. Our idea of who God is…is the most important thing about us. Your idea of God will define you as either a Christian or a non-Christian. Your understanding of the 3 persons of God will define you as an orthodox believer or a heretic. There were many people who were condemned as heretics in the early church during 100-400 AD because they would not agree to a Biblical understanding of the Triune God. Ancient diagram of the Trinity: The Gnostic heresy denied that Jesus was fully God; that he was on par with the Father. The Gnostics taught that Jesus was inferior to the Father, that he was some super angel. Arianism also denies that Jesus is fully God. Arius taught that the Father was the only uncreated being; Christ was begotten and therefore created by the Father. Arius believed there was a time when Christ did not exist. This heresy finds its contemporary partners in Christian Scientists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Unitarianism. These 3 current religions all deny Jesus is fully God. Another false view of the Trinity is Modalism. In 200 AD, Sabellian spoke of the Father, Son and Spirit but he understood them as three manifestations of one God. God reveals himself as only 1 person at any one time. God cannot be all three persons at the same time. This means that God is 1 being and 1 person. The contemporary partners are Oneness and Jesus only. This is seen in T.D. Jakes a significant speaker / pastor in Texas, in many Pentecostal churches and musical groups such as Phillips, Craig and Dean. Mormons believe in a form of polytheism or more than one God. While Muslims and Christians may both refer to God and some say they are the same God, they are mistaken. The Muslims reject Jesus as God; they respect Jesus as a prophetic teacher but not God. “The doctrine of the Trinity is the distinctive mark of the Christian religion, setting it apart from all the other religions of the world.” Your idea of God expressed in your view of the trinity is greatly important as it will define whether you are part of the historic, biblical community of faith or you are a part of some other religion who does not worship the one true God. It comes down to the principle - the more we know about someone, the more there is to love. The greater our knowledge is about who a person is, our love is given the opportunity to grow proportionately to our knowledge. The greater we know our God in the truth of the Trinity, the more capacity we will have to love God. If your response is a desire to embrace the one biblically genuine God, then form a category in your mind for the 3 foundations of the trinity. Foundation #1 – There is only one God. Foundation #2 – God is three persons. And, Foundation #3 – The persons are coequal and coeternal. Today, I do not have time to speak on all three foundations, but only 1. Christianity believes there is one God, not three Gods. This is called monotheism. We worship one God because there are no other gods worthy of worship. Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” God proclaims that He alone is the one true God: Isaiah 45:5-6, 21-22 “I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other…And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” Let’s think for a moment what life must be like within the Trinity. What do you think the Father, Son and Spirit experience with each other? When the Son Jesus came to earth, what was the most common argument among his disciples? Who will be the greatest in heaven? There was an athlete in the 20th century who was known for saying “I’m the greatest” anyone remember his name? Muhammad Ali – there is a great story he told about himself one time. He was on an airplane, and the flight attendant came up and said you’re going to have to put on your seat belt. And Muhammad Ali did not want to do that, so he said no I am not going to. She said it’s federal regulations, so you going to have to put the seatbelt on. To which he said, I refuse, so you will just have to take off anyway. She said we are going to do that. Ali said, I’m not going to put on my seatbelt because I’m superman, and superman don’t need no seatbelt. The flight attendant said, superman don’t need no airplane. It’s ironic that the disciples greatest debate was who would be the greatest in heaven, but what do you think the conversation is among the 3 persons of the trinity? Do you think there are arguments over who is the most omniscient or the most powerful, or who is the oldest? Self-centeredness is the original temptation (Lucifer desired to be as God), and it continues to infect both families and small groups, congregations and denominations. Whenever we insist on our own way, take credit for a group's accomplishment, or walk away hurt because we weren't consulted, we're struggling with this form of self-centeredness and self-glorification. By way of contrast, think about life within the Trinity. How do Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relate to each other? Of course not, and in that absence there is a lesson. Dale Bruner, in an essay on the Trinity, begins with the person of the Holy Spirit: “One of the most surprising discoveries in my own study of the doctrine and experience of the Spirit in the New Testament is what I can only call the shyness of the Spirit …What I mean here is not the shyness of timidity (cf. 2 Tim. 1:7) but the shyness of deference, the shyness of a concentrated attention on another; it is not the shyness (which we often experience) of self-centeredness, but the shyness of an other-centeredness.” It is, in short, the shyness of love. Bruner points out the ministry of the Spirit in the Gospel of John, a ministry constantly to draw attention not to himself but to the Son—the Spirit comes in the Son's name, bears witness to the Son, glorifies the Son (cf. John 14:26; 16:13). The ministry of the Spirit could be pictured, Bruner says, by my drawing a stick figure (representing Jesus) on a blackboard. Then, to express what the Spirit does, I stand behind the blackboard, reach around with one hand, and point with a single finger to the image of Jesus: "Look at him, listen to him, learn from him, follow him, worship him, be devoted to him, serve him, love him, be preoccupied with him." This is what Bruner calls the shyness of the Holy Spirit. But when we look at the Son, oddly enough we see that he didn't walk around saying, "I am the greatest." He said, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing" (John 8:54). He said he came not to be served but to serve. He submitted to the Spirit, who Mark tells us "drove him into the wilderness." He told the Father in his climactic struggle, "not my will, but yours be done." Jesus, too, has this same "shyness." Then there is the Father. Twice in the synoptic Gospels we hear the voice of the Father: once at baptism and again at the Transfiguration. Both times his words are a variation of this message: This is my priceless Son. I am deeply pleased with him. Listen to him! Because "God the Father is shy, too. The whole blessed Trinity is shy. Each member of the Trinity points faithfully and selflessly to the other in a gracious circle." I was raised in some ways to think of God as a proud, almost arrogant being who could get away with his pride because he was God. The doctrine of the Trinity tells me it is not so. God exists as Father, Son, and Spirit in a community of greater humility, servanthood, mutual submission, and delight than you and I can imagine. Three and yet One. Oneness is God's signature. The more we know about someone, the more there is to love. The greater our knowledge is about who a person is, our love is given the opportunity to grow proportionately to our knowledge. The greater we know our God in the truth of the Trinity, the more capacity we will have to love God. As you look more deeply into the Trinity to know, understand and appreciate God, the more you will find relevant, life changing truth. For example, self-centeredness could be cured by looking deeply within the Trinity. Our God is not an arrogant, self-centered God, but a God who is shy in that each of the three persons point to one another. They lift each other up in perfect community. Likewise our goal as a church is creating small communities or small groups where we can learn about God and lift each other up rather than focusing entirely on ourselves. |
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Students
Students are vital to many aspects of Romeo's ministry. We invite middle and high school students to join a small group, get connected, and experience life change.
Students are vital to many aspects of Romeo's ministry. We invite middle and high school students to join a small group, get connected, and experience life change.
