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They turn in your Bibles to the 
book of Ephesians. We'll look at Ephesians chapter 
one. Ephesians one, I'll read verses 
one to fourteen. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 
by the will of God to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful 
in Christ Jesus. Grace to you and peace from God, 
our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and 
father of our Lord Jesus Christ. who has blessed us with every 
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he 
chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should 
be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined 
us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according 
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of 
his grace, by which he made us accepted in the beloved. In Him 
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, 
according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound 
toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery 
of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed 
in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times 
He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which 
are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. In Him also we 
have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to 
the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel 
of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to 
the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted after 
you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, 
in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy 
Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance 
until the redemption of the purchased possession. To the praise of 
his glory. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
thank you for the written word and thank you for you. Thank 
you for the fact that you are a great and glorious God. We 
pray even now you would humble us under your mighty hand again, 
forgive us for our sins and wash away all things that would darken 
our understanding and grant us grace to receive that word and 
to delight in it. And we pray for the ministry 
and the power of your Holy Spirit to work in our hearts. We pray 
for the ministry and the power of the Holy Spirit to save those 
who have not come to Christ. We pray that even tonight, Father, 
it would be the time of salvation, that this would be the time when 
sinners would look unto you and find grace and mercy and forgiveness. And we pray through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen. Well, tonight our study 
will be more topical in nature rather than focusing primarily 
here on Ephesians chapter 1. We will refer to this section 
later. But I want to bring a message 
on the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. This morning we 
considered theology and how important it is. Our Father in Heaven. The Lord Jesus sets that forth 
as a preface before we enter into the presence of God. We 
need to contemplate, we need to consider who He is. We saw 
that he is our heavenly father and that he has omnipotent power. He is able to render aid and 
assistance and help to those who are in need. Well, I thought 
tonight we'd carry that theme and consider theology, the doctrine 
of God, This will be a little bit more of a technical sermon. 
I want to make sure that everybody follows along and really tries 
to catch the drift of what we're seeking to promote or to set 
forth here. There have been some recent events 
and broader evangelicalism which necessitates a study like this. We need to be sure on what the 
doctrine of the Trinity most certainly is. And to that end, 
I want to do three things. define the doctrine, secondly, 
defend the doctrine, and thirdly, display the doctrine of the Trinity, 
the triune God. Well, as we consider the definition, 
we need to first notice what is taught, and then secondly, 
what is not taught. In other words, what we mean 
by the Trinity and what we don't mean by the Trinity. I think 
a good place to start our study is, yes, to be sure, the Bible. 
The Westminster Shorter Catechism sets it forth in two very simple 
questions and answers. The doctrine of God, theology 
proper, who He is relative to Himself. It says, are there more 
gods than one? The answer is there is but one 
only, the living and the true God. That is an essential proposition 
in our understanding of who God is. There is but one only, the 
true and the living God. Deuteronomy chapter six highlights 
that reality. Deuteronomy chapter six, verse 
four, the Shema. Here, O Israel, the Lord, our 
God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your 
God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your 
strength. That was the monotheistic confession. of Israel, while the nations 
around them had a polytheistic approach, many gods. Israel was 
unique in that they had one true and living God. This is confirmed 
in the New Testament as well, or rather sustained in the New 
Testament. In 1 Corinthians 8, verse 4, 
Therefore, concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we 
know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there 
is no other god than but one. And then again in verse 6, it 
says, Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are 
all things, and we for him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through 
whom are all things, and through whom we live. So that first proposition 
is absolutely crucial that we get down. We believe in one true 
and living God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism 
then asks the question, how many persons are there in the Godhead? In other words, in the very text 
that we read here, verse 6 of 1 Corinthians chapter 8, it speaks 
of one Lord Jesus Christ. Other places in the Scripture 
show us the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So the catechism, 
attempting to deal with that biblical data, asks the question, 
how many persons are there in the Godhead? The answer, there 
are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Spirit. And these three are one God, 
the same in substance, equal in power and glory. So in the 
space of two brief questions and answers, I believe the Westminster 
Shorter Catechism does capture the essence of the biblical teaching 
on the doctrine of the Trinity. God is one and three. He's not one and three in the 
same way. He's one in substance or one 
in essence, and he's three in person. See, we would have a 
contradiction or a problem if we said one substance, three 
substances, or we said one person, three persons. But he's one in 
one particular way in terms of substance or essence, and he's 
three in another way in terms of person, or what our confession 
refers to as subsistence. The Puritan Robert Shaw describes 
it this way. He says, we do not say that three 
are one in the same sense and in the same respect in which 
they are three. That would, no doubt, be a plain 
contradiction in terms. But we say they are three in 
one respect, one in another respect. three in person, one in essence, 
and there is no absurdity in that at all. It surpasses our 
reason indeed fully to understand it, and so do a thousand things 
besides which yet we know are true and real. But if it be a 
doctrine clearly revealed in the sacred scripture, We are 
bound to believe it, however incapable we may be of comprehending 
it. Now, having said that, it's not 
so absurd that we can't receive that truth. One God, three persons. We need to be careful that we 
don't err on the other side, too, and say we're believing 
something that's so incomprehensible. Well, let's reveal. Scripture 
reveals. We saw that in Deuteronomy 6, 
1 Corinthians chapter 8. There is one God. As we move 
through our exposition, we'll see that these three persons, 
all that is true of God is true of them. They share the essence 
of deity. It is not one third each, but 
rather each person fully has the essence of God Most High. So three propositions are absolutely 
crucial. We've already looked at the first. 
There is one living and true God. There is one living and 
true God. A second proposition. The Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit are each fully and equally God. We'll see that again as we move 
through our study tonight. And then the Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit are each distinct persons. The Father did not die 
on the cross for our sins. The father sends the son who 
willingly submits himself to the father, who undertakes to 
be the surety of a better covenant, who lives a life of sorrow and 
difficulty and grief in obedience to the law of God, who ultimately 
dies as a sacrifice at Calvary and rises again. He prays to 
his father. He communes with his father. 
He's filled with the Holy Spirit. All three persons, they're distinct, 
but each are fully and equally God. The distinctiveness of the 
persons, we see that again as we move through the data this 
evening. But there is also unity within the Trinity. There's not 
three different things going on with the persons of the Trinity. 
There's no war. Jesus says, I always do the will 
of the Father who sent me. Jesus says, my meat is to do 
the will of the father who sent me. Our confession says the father, 
the word of son and the Holy Spirit of one substance, power 
and eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the 
essence undivided. Need to be careful. It's not 
like Jesus is one third God, the spirit is one third God and 
the father is one third God. They are all equal in power and 
in glory. They all are God most high. What is not taught in the Christian 
doctrine of the Trinity? The first is polytheism. Poly 
means many. You probably have heard that 
if you've gone through school. Poly, what's the word? I'm thinking 
of shapes. Poly shape. That means many-sided 
shapes. Polygon. Thank you. A many-sided 
shape. Polytheism means a plurality 
of gods. That is not what the Christian 
doctrine of the Trinity teaches. We do not worship three gods. It's not tri-theism. It's not 
bi-theism. It's not poly-theism. That is 
simply not the doctrine of the Trinity. Secondly, it's not Arianism. And by Arianism, I don't mean 
the white supremacists that oftentimes inhabit certain geographical 
regions like Idaho and prisons. I'm not speaking about those 
Arians, not the Arian nation, not the Arian brotherhood. Arius 
was a church heretic in the church, and Arianism teaches that one 
God and then little G God, Jesus. There was a time, Arius said, 
when the sun was not. That is absolutely heretical. Arius maintained that there was 
a time when the sun was not. Aryanism is represented today 
in full swing by the Jehovah's Witnesses. They are Aryans. They have no problem saying that 
Jesus is a little G-God. They depersonalize the Holy Spirit, 
and instead of teaching that he is a person, that he is God 
Most High, they say he is God's active force. So, Arianism is 
alive and well today, and we need to understand that. The doctrine of the Trinity is 
not Arian, it's not polytheism, and it's not modalism. Modalism 
is that teaching which says that God is one and that he manifests 
himself in different modes. God manifests himself in different 
ways. He was the Father, he becomes 
the Son, and now he's the Holy Spirit. It's as if he puts on 
a different mask in order to engage in particular works. Modalism 
is a denial of the distinction of the persons. Modalism is represented 
today by a man named T.D. Jakes. Just recently, there was 
a big get-together, and some men asked T.D. Jakes very specific 
questions about the Trinity, and he was vague in his report. 
Unfortunately, these men concluded that he's now a Trinitarian. 
I'm not suggesting that T.D. Jakes can't repent. I'm not suggesting 
that T.D. Jakes hasn't changed his mind. 
I am suggesting that men more skilled and more educated and 
more theologically adept in the scriptures should ask the questions 
of T.D. Jakes. He's a modalist unless, 
again, he has really repented. Modalists speak of God manifesting 
himself in a certain way. There is a whole denomination, 
you'll hear them referred to as Oneness Pentecostal, or Jesus 
name only. Pentecostalism. They deny the 
Trinity. So we are here seeking to defend 
the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. So that brings us to 
our second main section. Everybody with me? This is really 
important stuff. You can get wrong on a lot of 
things. I would imagine there's a lot of different views of eschatology 
in this room. I would imagine that all of us 
with our different views of eschatology will sit down at the marriage 
supper of the Lamb. You can't get the Trinity wrong. Can't mess up here. There is 
a hierarchy of doctrines in the scripture. Yes, you need to believe 
how big the temple was. Yes, you need to believe how 
many cubits went into the construction of the temple. You need to believe 
that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, or you 
will die in your sins. You must believe the truth concerning 
God's holy word when it comes to God himself. We need to understand 
this. We need to think clearly. Now, 
there is so much in the scripture, and I know that oftentimes that's 
a preacher's tactic. There really is so much. We can't spend that 
much time in it tonight, but just to sort of give a thumbnail 
sketch, Old Testament, New Testament, B.B. Warfield said the Old Testament 
may be likened to a chamber richly furnished, but dimly lighted. 
The introduction of light brings into it nothing which was not 
in it before. But it brings out into clearer 
view much of what was in it, but was only dimly or even not 
all perceived before the mystery of the Trinity underlies the 
Old Testament revelation. And here and there comes into 
view. Thus, the revelation of God is not corrected by the fuller 
revelation that follows it, but only perfected, extended and 
enlarged. So what Warfield says is the 
Trinity is in the Old Testament. You see these, the appellation 
of the inscription of divinity to the coming Messiah. How in 
the world could that be if he's not God? How in the world could 
that be if he's not deity? How in the world in the psalm 
that we sung tonight, Psalm 45, could we speak of Christ as being 
God if he's not God? How in the world could the prophet 
Isaiah prophesy concerning Jesus that he will be mighty God, everlasting 
Father, Prince of Peace, unless of course he is God? How in the 
world could David in Psalm 110 say, Yahweh said to my Lord, 
sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool? 
How in the world do we see the Holy Spirit taking on the very 
capacity of God Most High in instructing people and in leading 
people? The grieving of the Holy Spirit 
is not something unique to the Apostle Paul in the book of Ephesians. God, rehearsing the history of 
Israel, says that they grieve my Holy Spirit in the prophet 
Isaiah. The Old Testament is riddled 
with and littered with, in the righteous sense, God the triune. In the beginning, God created 
the heavens and the earth. How did he do this? He spoke 
it into being. Jesus Christ is the very Word 
of God, the agent of creation. The Spirit of God is brooding 
over the waters. All three persons meet us right 
in the face, beginning in Genesis chapter one. It is not confined 
to some few proof texts in the New Testament, but rather the 
triune God underscores the entirety of biblical revelation. We see the plural form of the 
divine name Elohim. We see repetitions of the name 
of God, oftentimes used by the biblical writers. The angel of 
the Lord takes on the very characteristic of God most high. Well, most 
commentators and most theologians agree that those are appearances 
of the pre-incarnate Christ. Before Christ came into the manger, 
before Christ took on flesh and blood, Christ was the angel of 
the Lord doing Yahweh's bidding in the Old Testament scriptures. The messianic promises concerning 
the servant of the Lord, the Psalms are literally scattered 
and full of references to the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. I've highlighted Isaiah the prophet, 
the servant of the Lord. The eternality of Christ is specified 
in Micah chapter 5, when it announces that it would be Bethlehem, Ephrathah, 
that tiny place from whom a ruler would go, whose origin is from 
everlasting. The Lord Christ is announced 
as the eternal one to come to save his people from their sins. 
So it's not just confined to the New Testament, but it's simply 
all throughout Scripture. Now, when we get to the New Testament, 
Warfield again, perceptively writes this or perceptively rather, 
says it is not a text here and there that the New Testament 
bears its testimony to the doctrine of the Trinity. The whole book 
is Trinitarian to the core. You can't miss it. You have to 
really be reading in a perverse manner to miss the Trinity. You have to try to miss it. How does John begin his gospel? 
By shining the spotlight upon the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the Word. 
That's Jesus. Drop down to verse 14. The Word 
became flesh and dwelt among us. He's speaking about Jesus 
in John 1.1. In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God. There's that distinction between 
the persons. The Father and the Word are distinct 
persons, but he goes on to say, and the Word was God. There's unity in terms of essence. You read through the upper room 
discourse, it is literally riddled with the triune God. Sinclair 
Ferguson has said something to the effect. It's very interesting 
that when Jesus is preparing his disciples for his coming 
departure, that he speaks on the Trinity, that he fills them 
with the knowledge of the triune God throughout the upper room 
discourse. It's absolutely lovely and brilliant 
and blessing. So, Warfield is right. The whole 
book is Trinitarian to the core. All its teaching is built on 
the assumption of the Trinity, and its allusions to the Trinity 
are frequent, cursory, easy, and confident. And then he says 
this, and I think it's an excellent observation. In a word, Jesus 
Christ and the Holy Spirit are the fundamental proof of the 
doctrine of the Trinity. You see, no one questions the 
deity of the Father. That's pretty well assumed. Even 
the cults, even the heretics, even the polytheists, well, maybe 
not the polytheists, but the modalists, the Arians, the Sibelians, 
the Sassanians, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the whoever's, usually 
accept the deity of the Father. It's not the issue. But what 
Warfield says is key to our understanding of this doctrine of the Trinity. 
Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are fundamental proof of the 
doctrine of the Trinity. In other words, if you establish 
the personhood and deity of Christ in the Spirit, you've done the 
work of exegesis. You have accomplished the task 
of defending the doctrine itself. Well, let's just look at some 
passages just to get into our heads. There are specific Trinitarian 
references. Matthew, chapter three, for a 
moment. Matthew, chapter three, or triadic patterns, that means 
the three persons present in a particular passage. Notice 
in Matthew, chapter three, at verse 13, and Jesus came from 
Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John 
tried to prevent him saying, I need to be baptized by you. 
And are you coming to me? But Jesus answered and said to 
him, permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us 
to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed him. When he 
had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water 
and behold, the heavens were open to him and he saw the Spirit 
of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. And suddenly 
a voice came from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom 
I am well pleased. Francis Turretin, in his Institutes 
of Olympic Theology, comments here on Matthew 3, 16 and 17. He says, hence the saying of 
the ancients. Arian, go to Jordan, and there 
you will see the Trinity. Arian, go to Jordan. Remember 
Arius, the heretic that denied the Trinity? Arius, the heretic 
that is the forerunner of the modern-day Jehovah's Witness 
movement? The ancients said, go to Jordan, there you will 
see the Trinity. You see the sun going down into 
the water. You see the spirit alighting upon it as a dove. 
And you hear the voice of God most high say, this is my beloved 
son in whom I am well pleased. The baptismal formula in Matthew 
28. This would've been a wonderful passage to address to Mr. Jakes, to ask him, is it proper, 
is it right to baptize in the name of the triune God? Again, 
oneness Pentecostals baptize in the name of Jesus only. Matthew 
28, verse 18, Jesus came and spoke to them saying, all authority 
has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, 
and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them, notice, 
in the name singular. Don't miss that. It's the name 
singular of the living and the true God, the name of the Father 
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe 
all things that I have commanded you. And, lo, I am with you always, 
even to the end of the age. Romans chapter 8 verse 11 again, 
a sampling of passages to show all three persons being spoken 
up as Warfield says, the allusions to the Trinity are frequent, 
cursory, easy and confident. In other words, the apostolic 
writers could use things synonymously like the Spirit of God and the 
Spirit of Christ all in one fell swoop because they were Trinitarian 
to the core. Romans chapter 8 verse 11, but 
if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in 
you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life 
to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. Going back to verse 9, you are 
not in the flesh but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of God He 
dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have 
the spirit of Christ, he is not his. You see that that cursory, 
that easy, that confident, that frequent allusion to the various 
persons involved in this act of redemption of God's people. First Corinthians, Chapter 12. 
Paul dealing with the gifts. First Corinthians, Chapter 12. 
Notice in verse 12. I'm sorry, verse 4, 1 Corinthians 
chapter 12, verse 4. There are diversities of gifts, 
but the same spirit. There are differences of ministries, 
but the same Lord. And there are diversities of 
activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. We've got the spirit. We've got 
the Lord Jesus. We've got God the Father here 
again. just being alluded to. He's not engaged in a defense 
of the Trinity at this point. He's doing theology in terms 
of the gifts, in terms of the charismata, but he is using the 
various persons of the Trinity, not using them in some wicked 
way, but using them to bolster his argument and highlight the 
reality that the dispensation of the gifts among God's people 
come from the Spirit according to his will. And he's highlighting 
these blessed realities in terms of the backdrop being the triune 
God himself. Ephesians chapter one. Again, 
we're skipping here. Ephesians chapter one. We read 
it. What's the whole purpose of Ephesians chapter one? Praising 
God, right? Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the purpose. Let's bless 
God. Let's praise God. Let's speak 
well of God. Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual 
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. So he says, Blessed 
be God. And then he highlights the specific 
activities of each of the persons within the Godhead. The Father 
chooses us. The Father predestines us. The 
Son comes and dies for us. He redeems us through his precious 
blood. And the Spirit is the one, the 
Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance. 
You see, blessed be God and the specific persons of the Trinity 
are celebrated for their act of redemption in the saving of 
sinners from their sins. It is everywhere. Assume notice 
in Ephesians four Ephesians chapter four verses four to six. Just 
wetting your appetite. You're going to go home and get 
your concordance out. Start looking at father, son and spirit. Start 
looking at the overwhelming data that the scripture affords concerning 
this doctrine of the Trinity. It's not just Matthew 28, 19. 
It's not one proof text here or there. Again, it presupposes 
the entirety of biblical revelation. There is one God, one true and 
living God, who exists in three persons, the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Spirit. Notice in Ephesians 4, 4, there 
is one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope 
of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and 
Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. We've got a reference to the 
Spirit, to the Son, the Lord, and a reference to the Father 
as well. So there are specific Trinitarian references. Again, 
we don't need to spend time defending the deity of the Father. But 
what about the Son? I already mentioned John 1.1. 
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and 
the Word was God. John 20.28. Thomas' confession 
of faith. See what John's doing? He's bookending. The deity of Christ. John's Gospel 
promotes the glory of Christ. John's Gospel is about presenting 
Jesus and His Majesty and His excellence. These things I write 
to you so that you may believe that Jesus Christ is the Son 
of God. John 20, 28, when Thomas sees Jesus, he says, My Lord 
and my God. Jesus accepts that. It's interesting 
when the angel speaks to the seer in the book of Revelation, 
and the seer wants to worship the angel. He says, don't do 
that. When Paul and Barnabas go into, I think it's Lystra, 
the heathen want to worship them. They said, don't do that. We're 
men of like nature. Don't worship us. But when Thomas 
says, my Lord and my God, Jesus doesn't silence him. Jesus doesn't 
denounce him. Jesus doesn't dismiss him. But 
rather, Jesus receives that affirmation. Jesus receives that glory. Jesus Christ is God. We saw in 
the scripture reading this morning in John chapter 12, these things 
Isaiah said when he saw his glory. What did Isaiah see? He saw the 
Son of Man. He saw the Lord of glory. He 
saw the second person of the triune God, lofty and lifted 
and high and exalted. He saw the angels singing praise. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord 
of hosts. The whole earth is full of His 
glory. We have explicit assertions concerning 
the deity of Christ. John 1.1, John 1.14, John 1.18, 
John 20.28, Romans 9.5, Titus 2.13, Hebrews 1.8, and 2 Peter 1.1 for a few of them. Again, we'll hopefully keep you 
busy later. There's application of divine names to the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Isaiah 9. Mighty God. Everlasting Father. Prince of 
Peace. 1 Timothy 3, verse 16. God was manifested in the flesh. That doesn't mean the manifestations 
of the modalists. It was rather highlighting the 
blessed reality that Christ came in the likeness of man. There 
is the divine functions of Christ. Created all things, didn't He? 
John 1.1-3. Colossians 1.15-20. Who can create but God alone? There is the divine function 
of government. All authority in heaven and on 
earth has been given to me. Colossians 1.17 says, All things 
consist. Hebrews 1.3 says, He upholds 
all things by the Word of His power. He is the exact representation 
of God Most High. In the upper room, the disciples 
could say, Show us the Father. And Jesus says, If you've seen 
Me, you've seen the Father. Christ is God. You see what the 
modalists and the Arians and the polytheists want to do? They 
want to rip Jesus off His throne. They want to cast Him down. They 
want to kick dust in His face. It may sound pious. It may sound 
holy. It may sound like they are trying 
to protect the integrity of the oneness of God Most High, but 
it is a direct attack upon our Savior. He has divine attributes. He 
is eternal. In the beginning was. Not in 
the beginning he came to be. It's an interesting use of verbs 
there. In the beginning he was. He always was. But he became 
flesh and tabernacled among us. 2 Corinthians 8. You know our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich essentially, yet 
for your sakes he became poor. That you through his poverty 
might become rich. He is omnipresent. See, say in 
Matthew 18. He says, where two or three are 
gathered in my name, there I will be in the midst of them. What's 
he say in Matthew 28? And, lo, I am with you always, 
even to the end of the age. Jesus is omnipotent, all authority 
in heaven and on earth. Jesus describes himself in the 
book of Revelation, chapters two and three, as the one who 
searches the hearts of men. Jesus holds the keys of death 
and Hades. Jesus has omniscience. Jesus 
has immutability. That means he's unchangeable. 
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. You see, all these things are 
true of Christ. There were times in his ministry 
on Earth that men would see these things. Remember when Jesus hushed 
the sea? Remember when he calmed the storm? 
What was the response of the disciples? They were exceedingly 
afraid. You say, that's kind of an interesting 
response. No, it isn't. Not when they were very familiar 
with the Psalter, not when they were very familiar with the Old 
Testament that God was ruler over the waves. And so when Jesus 
gets up from his nap and Jesus hushes the storm and everything 
becomes calm, it ought not to surprise us that they were exceedingly 
afraid. And their question was, what 
manner of man is this? What kind of a man can speak 
to the wind? What kind of a man can and can 
stop the water? What kind of a man does this? 
It was a fearful thing to them because they were in the presence 
of God. And then as well, Jesus forgives 
sins. Remember in Mark, chapter two, 
they lower that paralytic down on his back. Jesus says, Your 
sins are forgiven you. The Pharisees start to scratch 
their head and say, Who can forgive sins but God alone? Jesus says, 
Which is easier to say to the paralytic, Take up your bed and 
walk, or your sins are forgiven you? He says, But that you may 
know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive 
sins. He tells the paralytic, Take up your bed and walk. We 
all say, isn't that amazing, he caused this man to walk. No, 
what's amazing is that he forgave the man of his sins and that 
causing him to walk simply illustrated or demonstrated or affirmed the 
reality that he has the power to forgive sins. Always better 
to have forgiveness of sins than to take up your bed and walk. 
I'm not suggesting it's okay to not be able to walk. I sympathize 
and empathize. I would hope that God will bring 
a healing to your life. But if given the choice, do you 
want the forgiveness of sins or the ability to run a 440? Hopefully, you'll pick the forgiveness 
of sins. That's our Jesus, the Holy Spirit. Gordon Clark says, with respect 
to modern deviations from Orthodox doctrine, It is popularly said 
that we are obliged to defend the deity, not the personality 
of the son and the personality, not the deity of the spirit. 
You see, we don't deny the personhood of Jesus. We need to spend time 
defending his deity. We don't deny the deity generally 
of the Holy Spirit. We need to deal with his personhood. 
Well, consider that he communicates and he instructs. He can be lied 
to. He can be grieved. He intercedes 
for his people. He directs the church. He gives 
gifts to the church. He regenerates. He illumines. The Holy Spirit is a person. 
Acts chapter 5. You've not lied to men, but you've 
lied to God. He is speaking about God, the 
Holy Spirit there, very specifically and very conspicuously. You don't 
grieve an active force. You don't grieve impersonal power. You don't beseech impersonal 
power and active force to come and intercede for you, when all 
you can do is groan and moan and whine, and yet the Spirit 
presents prayer up to the Father on your behalf. The Spirit of 
God, the Spirit Almighty. We have a triune God, the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Again, these are a sampling of 
texts. I don't want to go too long. The doctrine displayed, 
we see Him at creation, we see Him in redemption. Where do we 
best see the glory of the triune God? When He said, let us make 
man, and when He says, let us redeem man. Best proof, best 
display, best illustration of the triune God at work, when 
He creates this world in Genesis chapter 1, and when He redeems 
us from our sins, Matthew chapter 3. Ryle's comment on that. He says, in Genesis 1, God says, 
let us make man. Matthew chapter 3 says, let us 
redeem man. Well, brethren, there is a brief 
sketch of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. A couple of things 
in conclusion. First, the importance of it. 
The importance of it. We need to know who God is, don't 
we? We're not like the heathen. Just babbling our prayers, hoping 
that they'll connect to somebody. We need to know our Father in 
heaven. We need to know our mediator. We need to know the Holy Spirit. We need to know the triune God, 
because that's who God is. We need to understand what the 
scripture says concerning Him. If we do not know the Trinity, 
we do not know God. This is the fundamental flaw 
with modalism. If he only appears to be this, 
and he appears to be that, and he appears to be this, then we 
have no idea what he really is. It is the Trinity that expresses 
the glory of God most high, one true, one living God, three persons 
in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Blessed 
unity, holy distinction, and blessed, blessed activity in 
the lives of his people. as well with reference to the 
importance of the doctrine, the atonement. One of the arguments 
that Athanasius used in terms of his defense of the deity of 
Jesus Christ, Athanasius was the fighter against Arius. Athanasius said only God himself 
could save fallen humanity. Jesus is no creature Jesus is 
not a created being. Jesus is God Most High coming 
to this world to save His people from their sins. justification 
by faith alone. We are not to put our faith in 
a creature. We're not to put our faith in 
an equal. We're to put our faith in the 
Son of God, Most High, who came, who lived, who died, and who 
rose again. He is the target. He is the object 
of saving faith. Francis Turretin said, Thus he 
who does not acknowledge and believe the Trinity has not the 
true God that is erected for himself an idol in the place 
of God. It is that important. You see 
this discussion going on right now. It's pathetic. Well, is 
it really that important? Does it really matter if he's 
a modalist? Not even touching on his health, wealth, prosperity 
madness. Does it really matter? Well, 
to men like Paul it mattered. To men like the prophet Isaiah 
it mattered. To the Godman Jesus it mattered, 
and it certainly ought to matter to each and every one of us. 
Another man, Peter Toon, said preachers and teachers need so 
to communicate the faith and so direct public worship that 
they really and truly give the impression that the Holy Trinity 
is God and God is the Holy Trinity. He said it before, a Jew should 
not be comfortable in Christian worship. A Jew should not be 
able to come under Christian preaching and say, you know, 
that was good. I agree with it. I remember seeing a clip one 
time about Joel Osteen and a couple came up to Joel Osteen and one 
was the man was Jewish and his wife was Roman Catholic and they 
both together loved Joel Osteen. Chris, loan out a gun and shoot 
me in the head if ever that happens under preaching here. Just take me out. Not because 
we should needlessly or insensitively, I don't want to be insensitive, 
offend Jews and Roman Catholics, but if our preaching isn't of 
the triune God, we're not magnifying the glory of Jesus Christ and 
the deity of the Holy Spirit. A Jew can come in and say, well, 
that was a good sermon, I feel good. That's bad preaching. This ain't the synagogue. St. the Temple, St. the Tabernacle. 
We preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. To the Jews, a stumbling 
block. Why was it a stumbling block? 
Because Paul said that God came into this world and died for 
sinners. See why that's a scandal to the 
Jew? You see why that's an offense to the Jew? You see why that 
just rubs him the wrong way? Or when Jesus is interacting 
with the religious leaders of his day, and they say, not for 
good works do we try and stone you, but you being a man, make 
yourself equal with God. They just couldn't get their 
minds wrapped around this stuff. Remember, I think it was Clark, 
he said that Paul understood Christianity as an unconverted 
man very well. That's why he fought so hard 
to destroy it. Paul understood the claims of 
the Christians. Paul understood what they were 
asserting of Jesus of Nazareth. And that fueled him to that almost 
maniacal expression of hatred for the church. Concerning zeal, 
what does he say? I persecuted the church. He understood 
the claims. He didn't accept it until the 
road to Damascus. Bavi said, Athanasius. understood 
better than any of his contemporaries that Christianity stands or falls 
with the confession of the deity of Christ and of the Trinity. In the confession of the Trinity 
throbs the heart of the Christian religion. Every error results 
from or upon deeper reflection may be traced to a wrong view 
of this doctrine. Take Christology, for instance. It's well been said, a departure 
from the Council of Chalcedon ends you in a bad place. 431, 
a creed was adopted, a creed was given, a creed was written 
that reflected the deity of Christ as the Scripture sets it forth. 
A departure to the right, a departure to the left ends one in some 
very troubling waters. We need to understand this doctrine. Secondly, the worship of God, 
John 4, 21 to 24. Jesus says, God is spirit. Those 
who worship must worship in spirit and truth. The traditional interpretation 
of that is with the heart and with the head. Well, that was 
common understanding. Everybody who sat under the prophets, 
everybody who sat under biblical teaching would realize you're 
supposed to bring the heart and the head to the synagogue. You're supposed to bring the 
heart and head to church. Perhaps Jesus is saying, God is spirit. Those who worship must worship 
in the Holy Spirit and in Christ, the spirit and truth. The time 
is coming and now is when men will no longer worship just in 
Jerusalem. But the worship of God is universalized. It's gone global. And the approach 
to this God is in the triune nature of God. Those who worship 
must worship in spirit and in truth. Gregory. I think that's 
the pronunciation. He says, No sooner do I conceive 
of the one than I am. I am illumined by the splendor 
of the three. No sooner do I distinguish them 
than I am carried back to the one. When I think of any one 
of the three, I think of him as the whole and my eyes are 
filled and the greater part of what I am thinking escapes me. 
I cannot grasp the greatness of that one. So as to attribute 
a greater greatness to the rest, when I contemplate the three 
together, I see but one torch and cannot divide or measure 
out the undivided light. And Donald MacLeod says this 
of God as he is. God is not simply a great sight, 
the object of speculative curiosity. The revelation of his glory in 
the whole theological process, which legitimately follows from 
it, is holy ground. He says we cannot stand as superiors 
over God in his word. We may not coldly and detachedly 
analyze and collate the great self-revealing deeds and utterances 
of Jehovah. We may not theologize without 
emotion or commitment. The doctrine must thrill and 
exhilarate. It must humble and cast down. 
Theology has lost its way, and indeed its very soul, if it cannot 
say with John, I fell at his feet, is dead. The right understanding 
of who God is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, ought to evoke from 
us worship, praise, adoration, and then comfort. I love this 
edition of the London Baptist Confession of 1689. The Westminster 
Divines, as wonderful as they did in terms of describing the 
doctrine and dealing with the doctrine, the subsistence, the 
unity of the persons and the Godhead, all those things, the 
Baptists came along and added this statement, which doctrine 
of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God 
and comfortable dependence upon him. It's not some cold, detached 
doctrine. It ought to be in your heart, 
it ought to be in your mind, it ought to thrill, it ought 
to exhilarate. We come to the Father through 
the mediation of the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. God 
saves sinners. God chose, God predestined. The Son dies and rises again. 
The Spirit takes that finished work of Christ and applies it 
to the elect. What more glorious thing can 
there be than who God is? What more wondrous thing than 
to go to the Jordan and there see the Trinity? What more wondrous 
thing than to behold our God in his majesty? My brothers and 
sisters, this is a doctrine worth defending. It is a doctrine worth 
dying for. It is a doctrine currently and 
always under attack. And it is a doctrine that we 
need to think clearly about. And if you don't know Christ 
tonight, believe on him. Believe on the Lord Jesus. You 
may not be able to formulate those propositions and quote 
Gregory and Donald MacLeod and all that sort of thing, but you 
need to look to Christ. It's Christ alone who saves his 
people from their sins. It is the gospel. It is the good 
news. It is what Jesus did on behalf 
of sinners. He's a substitute. He's a sacrifice. 
He gave himself for sinners. Well, let us pray. Father, thank 
you for your word and thank you so very much for your glory revealed 
in the Holy Scripture. Thank you that you are one true 
and living God, that there are three persons in the Godhead, 
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, 
the same in substance, equal in power and in glory. God, give 
us clarity of thought when we approach these things and give 
us grace to, as McLeod suggests, to take our sandals off and to 
stand amazed and to humble, be humbled under your glory and 
majesty. We just thank you for your grace. We thank you for 
your mercy. We thank you that you not only made man, but you 
have redeemed man as well. Go with us now. Cause your face 
to shine upon us. Grant us grace and help and strength 
to glorify you. And God, we do pray for this 
man, Mr. Jakes. I pray that you would grant him 
repentance, that you would grant him faith, that he would believe 
the truth as it is in Jesus. That if he has made a change, 
if he has embraced Trinitarianism, then praise be to you, Lord God. 
May the people of God be cautious and may the people of God approach 
these things with due diligence. For God, we pray that in all 
things you would be glorified. We ask through Christ the Lord. 
Amen.