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They turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 
chapter one. Ephesians chapter one, as I said 
this evening, we're going to consider God the Holy Trinity. It's quite a lofty subject, lofty 
topic. There are many, many verses that 
I have on my papers here that we probably will not get to this 
evening. There's just a lot of scripture 
that bears upon this glorious subject to know The Triune God 
is to know the God of Holy Scripture. It is absolutely crucial that 
we understand the Trinity. Francis Turretin, he said, Thus, 
he who does not acknowledge and believe the Trinity has not the 
true God, but has erected for himself an idol in the place 
of God. The only true and living God 
is the Triune God of Holy Scripture. Another man by the name of Peter 
Toon, he said that 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. And then Herman Boving, speaking 
of that great contender for the faith in the early church, the 
man by the name of Athanasius, who fought against the heretic, 
not physically, but spiritually and doctrinally, fought against 
the heretic Arius. Bobbitt says this with reference 
to Athanasius. He said that 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. So it is absolutely crucial that 
we understand what the Bible says concerning this most glorious 
topic. concerning the nature, the being 
of our God most high. Well, I'll just read Ephesians 
one beginning in verse three. We'll read the verse 14, one 
long sentence that celebrates the triune God in the work of 
salvation. 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, we see here, just 
as I read in verses three to fourteen, the celebration, the 
praise given to God for salvation to the believer. We see that 
God, the Father, is praised specifically in verses three to five. It is God, the Father, who chose. 
It is God, the Father, who elected. It is God, the Father, who predestined. And then the spotlight focuses 
upon God, the son, the Lord Jesus Christ, verse seven in him. We have redemption through his 
blood, the forgiveness of sins, and then the Holy Spirit is a 
little highlighted there in verses thirteen and fourteen 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." So the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all active in the salvation 
of His people. And I want to do two things this 
evening. First of all, the doctrine defined. What is taught in the 
Christian doctrine of the Trinity and what is not taught in the 
Christian doctrine of the Trinity. And then secondly, I want to 
look at the doctrine defended. We'll look at various places 
in the Old Testament and various places in the New Testament. 
And I am convinced, along with B.B. Warfield, who said, in a 
word, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are fundamental proof 
of the doctrine of the Trinity. Everybody accepts that the Father 
is God, so we won't spend time looking at various texts indicating 
that. But we will focus on Jesus and 
the Holy Spirit to show that they are God, that they are part 
of the triune God. And just before we begin with 
the doctrine defined, there's a lot of people, a lot of Reformed 
people who speak of the incomprehensibility of God. Now, incomprehensibility 
means that God cannot be comprehended. And we have to define that. We 
cannot fully comprehend God, but we can comprehend Him. He 
has revealed Himself. He has given us propositions. 
He has given us His Word. The Spirit teaches us and guides 
us and instructs us so that the knowledge that we do possess 
about God is accurate as long as it is consistent with the 
interpretation of Scripture. We need to be careful about the 
incomprehensibility of God. Some could take that to mean 
that we can't know anything about God. Well, that's simply not 
the case. Of course, we can know something about God. We can never 
know fully. We can never exhaust the knowledge 
of God. We don't know everything about 
God the way God knows everything about himself. But we can know 
truth. We do know truth as we come to 
the Holy Scripture. And then a second thing we need 
to consider is the word contradiction. Sometimes Christians set themselves 
unwittingly when they begin to get into discussions about the 
Trinity. Some say there's three and there's 
one. That's a contradiction. No, there's one essence or one 
substance, but there's three persons. One substance or essence 
and three persons. It's not the case that we have 
three essences and one essence. We have three persons, one substance. It is not a contradictory doctrine. God does not call us to believe 
contradictions. God calls us to believe truth. While some things may puzzle 
us, while some things may be difficult for us, that does not 
mean that they are contradictions. Do not go down that road, because 
if you can be shown to believe a contradiction, then you are 
in error. And the Bible does not present 
God, the triune God, in that fashion. It is consistent. It is not contradictory. It is 
the case that we worship one God, in essence, who exists eternally 
in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 
And that brings us to the doctrine defined, and again, just going 
back to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, succinct, brief and 
very biblical questions and answers. Numbers five and six ask these 
questions. Are there more gods than one? 
And the answer is, there is but one only, the living and the 
true God. There is but one only, the living 
and true God. The catechism then says, how 
many persons are there in the Godhead? The answer is, 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 basically, 
with reference to the Trinity, we need to see three things. Try to do that so it's easy. 
Trinity three, so that you'll be able to memorize this, so 
that you'll be able to follow along. Three things the Bible 
sets forth. There is one living and true 
God. Deuteronomy, chapter six, verse 
four. Here, O Israel, the Lord, our 
God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your 
God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your 
strength. That's Deuteronomy six, verse 
four, first Corinthians chapter eight and verse four. Paul highlights 
the same thing. There is one God. The Bible also teaches that the 
father, the son and the Holy Spirit are each fully and equally 
God. The Father, the Son and the Holy 
Spirit are each fully and equally God. As the Catechism says, the 
same in substance, equal in power and glory. And then the third 
thing that we need to understand is that the Father, the Son and 
the Holy Spirit are each distinct persons. The Father did not die 
on the cross. The Lord Jesus died on the cross. The spirit was poured out by 
the Lord Jesus on the day of Pentecost. Each of these persons 
has a specific role in the matter of salvation. So I read from 
Ephesians one three to fourteen. Very often the work of salvation 
is that grand demonstration of the three persons of the triune 
God. The Father chose, predestined, 
the Father elects. The Son comes into the world, 
He dies, He rises again, and He ascends on high. The Spirit 
is like the wind that comes upon the elect of God. and regenerates 
them and brings them forth and illumines them and teaches them 
and instructs them and all these things. We have one glorious 
God working in triunity to bless his people and to save them from 
their sins. That's an overall definition 
of the doctrine. What is not taught is polytheism. Polytheism simply means a multitude 
of gods. We don't worship three gods. 
We worship one God. in three persons, the Father, 
the Son and the Holy Spirit. Polytheism is a denial of the 
Bible's teaching that there is but one true and living God. Polytheism was common in the 
Roman Empire. Polytheism is very common today. People have a whole host of or 
a variety of gods. In Old Covenant Israel, they 
were surrounded by polytheistic nations. The judgments of God 
upon Egypt, each of the various plagues that the Lord used to 
judge Egypt, had an indirect judgment against the gods of 
Egypt. God says that He executes judgment 
against the gods of Egypt. various elements in nature. So 
when God uses those elements of nature as a judgment upon 
them, he is showing that not only are they not gods, but they 
are under the control of the sovereign God. What is not taught 
is what's called Aryanism. Now, Aryanism isn't a bunch of 
guys with skinheads and swastikas. That's not the Aryan that I'm 
speaking of. The Aryanism here refers to that 
man Arius who fought against Athanasius in the early church. 
Arius taught that there was a time when the sun was not. There was 
a time when the Son was not. In other words, Arius denied 
the eternality of Jesus. He denied the Godhood of Jesus. And you can meet the followers 
of Arius today just about any morning right there on Yale Road. They'll be holding up a magazine 
either called Awake or The Watchtower. The Jehovah's Witnesses are modern 
day Aryans. They deny the deity of Jesus 
Christ and they deny the personality of the Holy Spirit. So what is 
not taught is polytheism, Aryanism, or another heresy called modalism. And modalism, and I realize you 
probably didn't bargain for a lot of theological jargon this evening, 
but it's absolutely crucial to understand, because if you deviate 
one little bit on either direction, you fall into heresy. It's very 
important, very, very absolutely crucial that you get these things 
down. Modalism denies the distinction between the persons. Basically, 
what modalism teaches is that God was the father. He became 
Jesus, the son, and now he's the Holy Spirit. Two men in history, 
the first man is called Sibelius. If you hear of Sibelianism, he 
was a modalist. Also, Sicilius, I believe, was 
also associated with modalism as well. And if modalism is correct, 
we don't know God. We don't know God. That's the 
biggest problem with modalism, because if he was the father, 
he became the son and he is now the Holy Spirit. We really don't 
know what he is in his essence. So we're lost. We are not modalists. 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. There are some brands of Pentecostalism 
that subscribe to modalism. There is the oneness Pentecostals 
that subscribe to modalism, which is ancient heresy come back into 
the modern world. So those are what we do not mean 
when we teach the doctrine of the Trinity. What is taught is 
that there is one true and living God who exists in the Father, 
or exists in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Spirit. Now let us move to the Old Testament. The Old Testament, B.B. Warfield 
said the Old Testament may be likened to a chamber. Listen 
to this. This is very good. 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 
is in it, but was only dimly or even not at all perceived 
before. You get that? You're in a nice 
parlor, and there's all this beautiful furniture, and just 
the introduction of light doesn't put that furniture in there. 
It simply illumines what was already there. The Old Testament 
is replete with the Trinity. God is the Trinity. And therefore, in the beginning, 
God refers to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He 
goes on to say 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. I think that's absolutely spot 
on. The Trinity is in the Old Testament. The New Testament simply turns 
on more light and simply shines more brightly on this glorious 
truth of who God is. Genesis chapter one, the plural 
form of the divine name. Some have said that this refers 
to the majesty of God. It refers to the Trinity. It 
refers to the plurality, the tri personality. Genesis chapter 
one, verse twenty six. Then God said, let us make man 
in our image. According to our likeness, let 
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of 
the air, and over the cattle. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 22. 
Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of 
us to know good and evil again in Genesis chapter eleven at 
the Tower of Babel in verse seven. Indeed, excuse me, verse seven. 
Come, let us go down there and and there confuse their language 
that they may not understand one another's speech. The same 
reference of the same idea is found in Isaiah six, verse seven 
at the commissioning of the prophet. The Lord God says, Who will go 
for us? And the prophet Isaiah raises 
his hand and says, Here am I, Lord, send me. There are references 
in the Old Testament to the angel of the Lord. The angel of the 
Lord. Now, there's various angels of 
the Lord, but generally speaking, when the word appears with angel 
of the Lord in the Old Testament, it refers to the second person 
of the triune God. We see that because the angel 
of the Lord is spoken of as deity. He is spoken of as being God 
himself, and there are various references for this. Genesis 
chapter 6, 16, rather, verses 2 to 13. Genesis chapter 22, 
11 and 16. Chapter 31, 11 and 13. And then also in Judges 13, 20 to 
22. And then there are various promises 
in the Old Testament, a testament about a coming Messiah, about 
the one who would come to save his people from their sins. And 
that Messiah is attributed to be God. In Isaiah chapter 9, 
what it says about the Lord Jesus Christ is simply amazing. In Isaiah 9, you can turn there 
for a moment. Isaiah chapter nine, verse six, 
run to us. A child is born unto us. A son is given and the government 
will be upon his shoulder and his name will be called Wonderful 
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace of the 
increase of his government and peace. There will be no end. 
upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it 
and establish it with judgment and justice. From that time forward, 
even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. What a beautiful statement concerning 
the divinity of the coming Messiah, the Christ who would come and 
have the government laid upon his shoulder. Edward Payson said, 
admire him as wonderful, consult him as counselor, adore him as 
God, be born of him as your everlasting father and submit to him as the 
Prince of Peace. The Psalter is filled with references 
to the divine Messiah who would come to save his people from 
their sins. In Psalm 2, it says of Christ 
that he says, or that the Father says to Christ, ask of me and 
I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost 
parts of the earth for your possession. Psalm 110, verse 1, the Lord 
God, most I said to my Lord, Jesus Christ, Sit down at my 
right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. We see the Holy 
Spirit in the Old Testament. Again, the light is not as shining 
bright as perhaps on the day of Pentecost, but the Spirit 
is active. The Spirit is there at the creation 
brooding over the waters. The Spirit is green, according 
to Isaiah 63 and verse 10. Paul says the same thing in Ephesians 
chapter 4, verse 30. So the Father, the Son and the 
Holy Spirit are all throughout the pages of the Old Testament. But when we get to the New Testament, 
we see that glory fully display again. B.B. Warfield said it 
is not a text here and there that the New Testament bears 
its testimony of the doctrine of the Trinity. The whole book 
is Trinitarian to the core. You need to get this, because 
I fear that at times we only think about Matthew 28 and the 
baptismal formula, when Jesus said, all authority in heaven 
and on earth has been given unto me. Go, therefore, and make disciples 
of all the nations. And then he says, baptizing them 
in the name singular of the three persons of the Godhead, the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Do you realize that is but one 
text out of a whole multitude of texts? And as I said, we won't 
even be able to scratch the surface tonight. When the opponents of 
the biblical doctrine of the Trinity tell you that it's simply 
not taught in the Bible, they are simply evidencing their ignorance 
of the scriptures and their rebellion against the triune God. It is 
absolutely set forth crystal clearly. Now, it's mysterious. 
It may be difficult. It may be hard and all of that 
stuff. But there is no lack of data. 
There is no lack of information concerning this glorious truth. Warfield said 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 in a word. Jesus Christ 
and the Holy Spirit are fundamental proof of the doctrine of the 
Trinity. They turn to Matthew three. Matthew 
chapter 3, and it's certainly a parallel passage to Genesis 
chapter 1. What do we find in Genesis chapter 
1? But the triune God saying, let us make man. Isn't that what 
we find? In the beginning, God created 
the heavens and the earth. The spirit was brooding over 
the waters. John 1 3 tells us that Christ 
was the active agent in creation. So, in Genesis 1 we have, let 
us make man. In Matthew 3 we have God, the 
triune, saying, let us redeem man. Matthew chapter 3, in verse 
16. When he had been baptized, Jesus 
came up immediately from the water. And behold, the heavens 
were opened 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 all three persons of the triune God are displayed 
here in Matthew three and it is no accident because the very 
next activity of our Savior is to go from this place into the 
wilderness to be tempted and then ultimately to go and embark 
on his public ministry in the salvation of sinners. These are 
some explicit Trinitarian references. We've already alluded to Matthew 
28 and verses 18 to 20. Turn over to Romans chapter 8. for a moment. Romans chapter 
8, just looking at some general references where all three persons 
are brought into the text of Scripture to demonstrate that 
God is in fact triune. 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. Backing up for just a moment 
to verse 9. Sorry about that. But you are 
not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit 
of God dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have 
the spirit of Christ, he is not his not talking about two different 
spirits. There's a spirit of God, a spirit 
of Christ, talking about the one in the same spirit that can 
be called the spirit of God or the spirit of Christ. All three 
persons are extent. All three persons are present 
in the life of sanctification for the believer. First Corinthians, 
Chapter 12, in the context of giving the spiritual gifts. First 
Corinthians chapter twelve verses four to six. 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. Generally speaking, in the New 
Testament, references to the Lord refer to Jesus. References 
to God refer to the Father. There are some exceptions to 
that, but that's sort of a general interpretative rule as you approach 
the New Testament and interpret these things in a Trinitarian 
fashion. 2 Corinthians 13, 14, perhaps 
one of the most famous benedictions used in the Church, the grace 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. and the love of God and the communion 
of the Holy Spirit be with you all. We've already seen the Trinity 
in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3 to 14. You may turn to Ephesians 
chapter 2, beginning in verse 8, verse 17. Ephesians 2, 17, 
and he came and preached peace to you who were far off and to 
those who were near. For through him, through Christ, 
we both have access by one spirit to the Father. Again, we're being 
very selective with the data here. We're not looking at every 
single text. This is a specimen, a list of 
passages that bear upon this subject. Notice in Ephesians 
4, at verse 4, There is one body and one spirit, just as you are 
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. one body and one spirit, one 
Lord and one God and father of all Hebrews chapter nine verse 
fourteen Hebrews chapter nine verse fourteen. I really recommend 
that you turn to these passages. There's something helpful about 
actually turning and seeing with the memory process. The more 
senses that you involve in a particular activity, the more you're able 
to Remember the data, so that if you meet a Jehovah's Witness 
and he says the Bible doesn't say there's a trinity, you can 
answer him. The Bible also doesn't use the 
official name Jehovah. It is an English transliteration 
of the sacred name, so you can throw that right under the witness's 
lap. Hebrews chapter nine, verse fourteen, how much more so the 
blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself 
without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works 
to serve the living God. First Peter chapter one in verse 
two. First Peter chapter one in verse 
two. elect, according to the foreknowledge 
of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience 
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. And Jude 20 and 
21. Jude 20 and 21. But you, beloved, building yourselves 
up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves 
in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ 
unto eternal life. So, those are some specific Trinitarian 
references, or triadic references, where all three persons are mentioned. As I said earlier, we'll not 
spend time looking at the deity of the Father, everybody accepts 
that, but let's move on to the deity of the Son. There are explicit 
assertions. In fact, on Wednesday night, 
in our study in Titus 2, 13, we saw that Paul applies the 
name God to the Lord Jesus Christ. He says the blessed hope and 
glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. There are several other instances 
in the New Testament where the name God or the word God, Theos, 
is applied to the Lord Jesus. I should ask for a show of hands 
if anybody here was here Wednesday night, if they remember those 
references. John 1.1 in the beginning was 
the word and the word was with God and the word was God. If you wonder who the word is, 
just drop down to verse 14. The word became flesh and dwelt 
among us. That is the Lord Jesus Christ. John 20 and 28. The biggest objector, 
the one we call doubting Thomas, the biggest cynic of the bunch, 
was able to confess, my Lord and my God, when he saw Jesus 
Christ. John 20. and verse twenty eight 
Romans chapter nine and verse five Titus chapter two and verse 
thirteen Hebrews chapter one and verse eight and second Peter 
chapter one verse one. So the name God is applied specifically 
to the Lord Jesus. Also first John five twenty. I neglected to put that in there. But those are some texts that 
speak or explicit assertions of Jesus, of Jesus deity, also 
the divine functions of Christ. He is the creator, according 
to John 1, 3 and Hebrews 1, 3 and Colossians 1, 15 to 20. Jesus 
made all things. Who does that but God alone? Christ is also the governor or 
the one who is sovereign in Providence. Colossians 117 says that in him, 
in Christ, all things consist. In Hebrews one, it says that 
he upholds all things by the word of his power. Who but God 
alone does that? The divine attributes are listed 
in the New Testament concerning the Lord Jesus. He is eternal. In the beginning was the word 
and the word was with God and the word was God. Jesus became 
flesh. Jesus always was God. Isaiah nine that we read earlier 
refers to him as what as everlasting father. That promise concerning 
his birthplace in Bethlehem, Ephrathah, in Micah five, verse 
two, says one is coming forth from you who's going forth are 
from of old. from everlasting. So, the Scripture 
teaches us that Jesus is eternal. The Scripture teaches us that 
Jesus is omniscient. That means he knows everything. When you read the letters to 
the churches in Asia Minor in Revelation 2 and 3, you see that. Christ says, I know your works. 
I know the good that you do. I know the bad that you are doing. 
I am he who searches the hearts, he says to the churches. He is 
omnipresent. That doesn't mean his physical 
body is everywhere. His physical body is locally 
present at the right hand of God the Father. But as God, he 
is able to be with us even to the end of the age. When there 
are two or three of us gathered together, Jesus is there with 
us in the midst of his people. He is omnipotent. That means 
he is all powerful and he is immutable. That means he does 
not change. I, the Lord, do not change. with Jehovah's Statement in Malachi 
3. Well, the writer of the Hebrews, 
who I believe was Paul, says with reference to Christ, Jesus 
Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. So those things 
that are attributed to God are attributed to Jesus Christ, what 
we call the attributes of God. And then, of course, as we see 
his earthly ministry, he multiplied the loaves, the fishes, he healed 
the sick, he raised the dead, he forgave sins. Remember that 
instance when he is at a place and he's preaching and they begin, 
or the friends of the paralytic lower the man down in amongst 
the people there. And Jesus tells the man, your 
sins are forgiven you. What do the Pharisees do? They 
grumble among themselves, saying, Who but God alone can forgive 
sins? Spurgeon says in his comment 
on that particular passage, he likes to think that when the 
when the roof was opened up, some of the dust fell on the 
heads of the Pharisees, those self-righteous men, as they were 
sitting there contemplating who but God alone could forgive sins. 
So what does Jesus say? Which is easier to say to the 
man your sins are forgiven or take up your mat and walk? Well, 
what is easier to say? It's easier to say your sins 
are forgiven because we cannot verify that, right? So what does 
Jesus do? Take up your mat and walk. You see, we look at that and 
we say, what a miracle. No, the miracle was that he forgave sin. The exhibition of that or the 
proof of that was that he enabled the man to take up his mat and 
walk away from there. Only God forgives sin. The Roman priest does not. Christ, our high priest, does 
because he's God most high. And then the Holy Spirit, one 
man as well said, with respect to modern deviations from Orthodox 
doctrine, it is popularly said that we are obligated to defend 
the deity, not the personality of the son and the personality, 
not the deity of the spirit. In other words, what is under 
debate with reference to Jesus is his deity. There's precious 
few anymore that deny the historical Jesus. I mean, that's just not 
the good option at this point. There are precious few that deny 
the historical Jesus. There are many who deny the deity 
of the historical Jesus. There are those who acknowledge 
that there is a Holy Spirit spoken of in the scripture, but the 
personality of the spirit is under attack. And by that, I 
don't mean he's got a winsomeness about him. He's a winning personality. 
It means his personhood, the fact that he is indeed a person. 
Well, the scripture tells us that he communicates and instructs. 
John fourteen, John sixteen, first Corinthians chapter twelve. 
Obviously, if he communicates and he instructs, he knows things. In fact, he knows the deep things 
of God. According to first Corinthians 
chapter two, he speaks. Jehovah's Witnesses refer to 
him as an active force, God's active force. No, he's a speaking, 
communicating, directing, guiding being. He is personal. He can be lied to. Acts chapter 
5. You should probably turn here. 
I like to think everybody has a mind like a bear trap and they 
always catch everything and they will be able to refer to these 
texts six months down the road when they do speak to the modern 
Aryans. But I can't always assume that. Acts 5 highlights both the personality 
and the deity. of the Holy Spirit. The spirit is a person you can 
lie to him. The spirit as a person is God. You have not lied to men, Ananias 
and Sapphira. You have lied to God himself. 
Do not miss this. He can be grieved. I've already 
referred to that in Isaiah 63, verse 10, Ephesians 4, verse 
30. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit 
by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. He can be 
grieved. He can be quenched according 
to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. He intercedes for his people 
with groanings that we don't even understand. According to 
Romans chapter 8 verses 26 and 27, he directs the church What happens in the church that's 
in Antioch according to Acts chapter 13? The Spirit comes 
to those men who are fasting and praying and he says, separate 
unto me Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have. You see, 
the Spirit is the active agent in the missionary enterprise. 
The Spirit working through the church. The Spirit working and 
directing through his local bodies of Christ's people. He directs 
certain men into certain places to preach the gospel. It is the 
Spirit who is active in directing the church. And then he gives 
gifts to the church, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. 
And he gives these gifts according to his will. Not according to 
our desire, not according to what we want, but he gives according 
to his will. He regenerates, according to 
John chapter 3. You must be born of the Spirit. And then he illumines, according 
to Ephesians chapter one, verses seventeen and eighteen. He is 
included in those triadic references where the father, the son and 
the spirit are referred to. He is omnipresent, according 
to Psalm 139. I can't go to hell without your 
spirit being there. I can't ascend into heaven without 
your spirit being there. The spirit is omnipresent and 
the spirit is omnipotent. That means he is all powerful. 
He is all strong and glorious and Luke chapter one, verse thirty 
five. The Holy Spirit will come upon 
you and the power of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore, 
also that holy one who is to be born will be called the son 
of God. Well, there in a nutshell is 
just a sketch, as I said, and when preachers say, hey, I have 
a lot to say, a lot of times it means they really don't. This 
is an instance where I really do. We could be here for several 
hours on this doctrine of the Trinity. It is crucial, but hopefully 
you've got enough from this sketch to get in your minds and your 
hearts what the Bible does say. And again, if you keep those 
two definitions in your head, there is but one only the living 
and true God. 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. Deuteronomy 6, 4. 1 Corinthians 
8, 4. One God. The rest of the passages that 
we referred to, these triadic ones, these tri-union, the triune 
God being spoken of, and then the specific texts that deal 
with the deity of Jesus Christ and the personality and deity 
of the Holy Spirit. The material on this subject 
is vast, it's glorious, and we do well to study it, to learn 
it and to know it. Three thoughts and then we close. 
First, the importance of the doctrine. Again, the knowledge 
of God. When Jesus prayed his high priestly 
prayer in John 17, 3, he said, And this is eternal life, that 
they may know thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom 
thou hast sent. If we don't understand the biblical 
doctrine of the Trinity, we don't know God. See, there's a common 
misconception out there that Judaism and Christianity and 
Islam, they're all theistic or monotheistic religions. And that, 
you know, when all is said and done, they're very similar. No, 
they're not. No, they're not. The Jews reject the triune God. 
The Muslims reject the triune God. You cannot be saved rejecting 
the triune God. We must know him. With reference 
to the atonement, one of Athanasius arguments for the deity of Jesus 
Christ was this. Only God himself can save fallen 
man. Jesus is God, because only God 
himself can save fallen man. What about justification by faith 
alone? We are putting our trust. We 
are putting our faith. We are putting our confidence, 
not in a creature, not in a God. but God most high, even the Lord 
Jesus Christ. I think Turretin is right on. 
And maybe you might think, wait a minute, I don't know. We sound 
intolerant as it is. Well, you know what, brethren, 
we better be intolerant when it comes to these things. We 
had better be jealously intolerant when it comes to these things. 
The truth about God, about salvation, about Jesus, about atonement. 
We must be intolerant. We do not allow for margins of 
error in these things. Jesus said unequivocally in John 
8, if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. If you do not believe in the 
deity of our Lord Jesus, you will die in your sins. Turretin 
is right. Thus, he who does not acknowledge 
and believe the Trinity has not the true God, but has erected 
for himself an idol in the place of God. A second observation 
is worship. Worship. We need to understand 
this triune God as we come in to worship Him. Because when 
we know him, when we understand him, then our worship is informed 
and it's right. John 4, 21 to 24. When Christ 
is instructing an adulterous woman about the worship of the 
triune God, I actually believe he is insisting that we do approach 
God as a triune God. John 4. Verse 21, woman, believe 
me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain 
nor in Jerusalem worship the father. Just to set the stage 
for a moment. Remember, Jesus was weary. He 
came to this well and he asked the woman for a drink. What does 
the woman say? You, a Jew man talking to me, 
a Samaritan woman. Jesus says, go call your husband. 
She says, I don't have a husband. He says, you're right. The man 
you're currently with isn't your husband either. She was an adulteress. 
He found her out in her sin. He showed her her wickedness. 
So what was her response? Hey, where do we worship? She 
changed the subject. Isn't that what happens? We get 
found out in our sin and we say, what about those two nuts? Huh? Boy, you are an evil, adulterous 
wretch. You know it's the case. And you 
say, yeah, boy, I wonder if it's going to rain today. That's what 
she does. Look at verse sixteen, go call 
your husband and come here. The woman answered and said, 
I have no husband. You have well said, I have no 
husband for you have had five husbands and the one whom you 
now have is not your husband. In that you spoke truly. The 
woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers 
worshipped on this mountain and you Jews say that in Jerusalem 
is the place where you were one ought to worship. You see how 
she does that. It's not like Jesus is caught 
unawares. He's not saying, wow, she really 
got one over on me. But what does he do? OK, you 
want to talk about worship? I'll talk to you about worship. 
And that's when he introduces this subject. Woman, believe 
me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain 
nor in Jerusalem worship the father. You worship what you 
do not know. We were. We know what we worship 
for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming and now 
is when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit 
and truth for the father. Notice this is seeking such to 
worship him. I dare say he was seeking this 
particular woman at this particular time to be one of these worshipers. And then Christ makes this statement 
in John 4, 24. God is spirit, and those who worship him must 
worship in spirit and truth. Now, the first time I ever preached 
this, I took the view that spirit and truth meant the heart and 
the head. You have to bring not only your 
knowledge, but your burning passion to the Lord. I don't think that's 
what's in view. I don't think that's a heretical 
position. I don't think it's a damnable position, but I actually 
think Jesus may be referring to the trinity of God. God, the 
Father, is spirit. Those who worship him must worship 
in spirit, the Holy Spirit, and in truth. Who is the truth? I 
am the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus said. What he is 
saying is that there is this shift coming. Worship is no longer 
localized here in Jerusalem on this particular mountain, but 
the hour is. The hour has come. where the 
worship of God will be universal. Not that everybody will be saved, 
but men from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. And they will 
come to this God through the Spirit, by the mediation of Jesus 
Christ, and worship this glorious God. Gregory, one of the Cappadocians 
in the early church, said, No sooner do I conceive of the one 
than I am and 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. Having a proper view of God ought 
to affect the way that we worship God. One man in a book on the 
Holy Trinity recently says that much of the Western world is 
practically modalistic in their worship. And I haven't got my 
mind around that. I don't understand why he says 
that, but I suspect it's true. I suspect that we focus in on 
the one and we forget about the glory of the three. We're not 
like Gregory, that when I see the one, I think of the three. 
When I'm surrounded by the three, I'm going back to the one. It's 
glorious God in triunity, in glory, in majesty. And then the 
third observation, I referenced this this morning. The Trinity 
serves as a pattern for our treatment of others. The Trinity serves 
as our pattern for the treatment of others. The same Robert Leatham 
in his book on the Holy Trinity says the father advances his 
kingdom by means of his son. The son glorifies the father. 
The spirit speaks not of himself, but of the son and the father 
glorifies the son. All will call Jesus Lord by the 
Holy Spirit to the glory of the father. Each of the three delights 
in the good of the others. Man, that's what we need. We 
need the doctrine of the Trinity to show shape the way that we 
relate to one another. Imagine if a husband and a wife 
related to one another the way the father and the son relate 
to one another. Imagine if the Church of Jesus 
Christ, instead of keeping people at a distance, was actually embracing 
and loving and esteeming one another as better than themselves. Imagine if in our Christian witness, 
we actually were loving and were joyful and were peaceful and 
more patient and more gentle. You know what it describes? The 
fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians chapter five. That's 
a description of who God is. He is loving, he is joyful, he 
is peaceful, he is gentle, he is long suffering, he is self-controlled. Brethren, the Trinity serves 
as the pattern for our treatment of others. God, the father, is 
not acting contrary to the son. The son does not act contrary 
to the father. The son willingly submits himself 
to the father. The son willingly carries out 
the father's will. And ladies, I dare say that's 
your pattern and your example as wives in the home. submit 
to your own husband's house to the Lord. And then the very comparison 
is that Jesus Christ submits to his own father. And we as 
men, we ought not to be tyrants. God doesn't. I mean, there's 
times when he rules us with a heavy hand because we need it. We get 
out of line. He's loving, he's joyful, he's peaceful, he's gentle, 
he's patient. We need to image that. We need 
to bear forth that sort of a representation of our God. I said three, one 
more. The comfort of this doctrine. This is where the Baptist Confession 
has something on the Westminster Confession. You know anything 
about the history of the two? The Westminster was written in 
the 1644s by the Westminster Divines. Several men, many, many 
men met for several years to work out a doctrinal statement. 
You see, theology mattered then. You can tell because they went 
to those lengths to write doctrinal statements. I could just hear 
that today. You mean you want to meet together and write theology? 
Why? That's the mindset of our present 
era. Anti-theology, anti-intellectual, 
anti-mental, anti-use the mind to actually seek those things 
which are above. Let's just love Jesus. Well, 
let's ask the question, which Jesus are you loving? That's 
why we need theology. That's why we need the Bible. 
That's why we need good creeds and confessions. 1644, the Westminster 
Confession was written. 1689, the Act of Toleration under 
William and Mary. So the Baptists basically took 
Westminster's Confession and, dare I say it, they baptized 
it. That means they took out the 
infant baptism. They changed a bit of church 
government, but substantially the two documents are the same. They're the same on the doctrine 
of the Trinity or on the doctrine of God, except the Baptists add 
this. Which doctrine of the Trinity 
is the foundation of all our communion with God and comfortable 
dependence upon him? I love that. This is not just 
some mysterious mathematical conundrum that baffles theologians. If that's what you've gotten 
tonight, please forgive me. I want you to get that this doctrine 
of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God 
and comfortable dependence upon him. That's what you need to 
take from the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. Well, let us 
pray. Father, thank you for the Word of God, and thank you for 
your person, and thank you for your glory and your majesty, 
your being, rather, in the three persons, the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Spirit. Cause us to reflect upon this 
truth and cause us to know our Bibles. Cause us to be able to 
reject the heresies that that that infringe upon this glorious 
truth. We know there is what but one 
true and living God, but there are those three persons in the 
Godhead, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three 
are are the same in substance, equal in power and glory, and 
God made this indeed be that foundation upon all. upon which 
we have communion with you and our comfortable dependence upon 
you. Go with each one of us now. God, 
watch over us and protect us and just help us to live as your 
people in this lower world. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord. Amen.