I think I’m three weeks behind now, but because in the last three weeks I’ve done Sunday School, we’ve had a baptism and an all-age service, this will actually get me back up to date!
This term our church has started a new series on “Delighting in God”, looking at His perfect attributes.
The bible gives us the following doctrine of the Trinity:
- God is three distinct persons – “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” – 2 Corinthians 13v14
- Each person is fully God
- Father – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1v1
- Son (“Word”) – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” – John 1v1
- Holy Spirit – “Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”” – Acts 5 vv 3-4
- There is one God – “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” – Deuteronomy 6v4
There are some analogies that help us with this, but none is perfect. For example:
- The three states of water
- Water in three distinct forms – Ice, Water, Steam
- All three forms are the same substance, H20
- BUT H20 cannot be all three forms at the same time
- A person has many roles (eg: Father, Office Worker, Neighbour)
- The person is all three roles at the same time
- All three roles are still the same person
- BUT It is all of one person, not three distinct people
Some same that all roads lead to God, but this is not the teaching of the bible, the Trinity does not align with Islam’s description of Allah, e.g. the Koran says that Allah has no son.
We see all three elements of the Trinity at work in unity at Jesus’ baptism. As Jesus is baptised, the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove, and the Father speaks.
At the heart of the Trinity is a loving relationship.
We are not people who are mainly into the Father, or mainly into the Son, or mainly into the Holy Spirit. Some churches become caricatured to focus too much on one aspect.
- High Anglican churches can be seen as focussing on God the Father
- Evangelicals tend to be caricatured as focussing mainly on Jesus as the Word, and so the preached Word
- Pentecostals can be caricatured as mainly focussing on the work of the Spirit
We should never be afraid of the power of the Holy Spirit, it will never do anything worth fearing. Being filled with the Spirit will always bring glory to Father, Son & Spirit.
We are adopted children of God, unlike Jesus who is the Son of God, but through the Spirit God desires to share the love He has for His Son with His adopted children.
