Remembering the Forgotten Trinity

Remembering the Forgotten Trinity

By Dr. Hal Harless

Foundation Fellowship of Greenville, TX

May 17, 2009

I. Introduction

A. When the courageous defender of the Trinity, Athanasius (AD 296-373), was asked if he realized that the whole world was against him, he replied, "It is not the world against Athanasius, it is Athanasius against the world." Therefore, he became known as Athanasius Contra Mundum ("Athanasius Against the World").

B. The author James White in his book, The Forgotten Trinity, asks:

So why don't we talk about loving the Trinity? Most Christians do not understand what the term means and have only a vague idea of the reality it represents....

Yet we seem rather confused at this point because most Christians take a firm stand on the Trinity and the fundamental issues that lead to it (the deity of Christ, the person of the Holy Spirit). We withhold fellowship from groups like the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses because they reject the Trinity and replace it with another concept.... yet if we are honest with ourselves, we really aren't sure exactly why.[1]

C. Definition

1. Orthodox

a. There is one God existing eternally in three coequal coeternal Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

b. There is one "What" (God) and three "Who's" (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

2. Unitarian

a. One God and one Person

b. Modalist: One God and one Person acting in three modes

3. Polytheistic

a. Tritheism: Three God/Persons acting in unison

b. Mormonism: the gods were once like us and we are progressing to become gods.

c. The dangerous teaching that we are "little gods" exists in Charismatic circles today.

II. The Teaching of the Trinity

A. Where is "Trinity" in the NT?

1. The word "Trinity" is not in the NT.

2. Many terms are not found in the Bible, but Christians have formed them as a shorthand way to refer to biblical truth, e.g. rapture, millennium, etc.

3. The concept of the Trinity is in the NT.

B. The teaching of the Trinity rests on three foundations.

1. Monotheism: There is only one God.

a. "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!" (Deut 6:4).

b. "To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD, He is God; there is no other besides Him" (Deut 4:35).

c. "Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other" (Deut 4:39).

d. "'You are My witnesses,' declares the LORD, 'And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me'" (Isa 43:10).

e. God told the prophet Isaiah:

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me. Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; yes, let him recount it to Me in order, from the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place. Do not tremble and do not be afraid; have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none'" (Isa 44:6-8).

f. "There is no God but one" (1 Cor 8:4).

g. "There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all" (Eph 4:4-6).

h. "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder" (Jas 2:19).

i. This is contrary to pagan polytheism, Tritheism, Mormonism, and the "little god" teaching.

j. The first foundation of the Trinity is that there is only one God.

2. There are three distinct divine Persons.

a. The Father

i. It is not controversial that the Father is a Person.

ii. It is not controversial that the Father is God.

iii. The Father is neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit.

1) Modalists think that the Son and the Holy Spirit are just one God revealing Himself in three modes.

2) Son

a) When Jesus prayed to the Father, e.g., John 11:41-42; 17:1-26, was He talking to Himself?

b) When the Father spoke directing others to His Son, e.g., "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" (Matt 17:5), was Jesus throwing His voice?

3) Spirit

a) The Spirit and the Father have different works. E.g., we "are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood" (1 Pet 1:1-2).

b) The Father sends the Spirit, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you" (John 14:26).

b. The Son

i. It is not controversial that the Son is a Person.

ii. The Son is divine.

1) John wrote:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.... And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.... No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him" (John 1:1-2, 14, 18).

2) John also records that Jesus told a Jewish crowd:

"I and the Father are one."

The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?" The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God" (John 10:30-33).

3) "Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!'" (John 20:28). This is not a mere exclamation; it was addressed to Jesus Christ.

4) Paul urged the Ephesian elders to "shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28).

5) Paul wrote concerning Israel that from them "by human descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever!" (Rom 9:5 NET).

6) Paul calls Him "our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus" (Tit 2:13). Paul uses a Gk. grammatical construction that means that the two nouns refer to the same person.

7) In fact, Paul used that same Gk. grammatical construction in referring to "the kingdom of Christ and God" (Eph 5:5), "the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess 1:12), and "the presence of God and of Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 5:21; 2 Tim 4:1).

8) Peter also calls Him "our God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (2 Pet 1:1). Peter used the same Gk. grammatical construction that means that the two nouns refer to the same person.

9) The author of Hebrews wrote that Jesus Christ "is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power" (Heb 1:3). He went on to say, "But of the Son He says, 'YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM'" (Heb 1:8).

10) John wrote, "We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true--even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20 NIV). John equates the terms "Son of God" and "God, the Son."

11) 43 times, Jesus is called "Son of God" (Matt 4:3, 6; 8:29; 26:63; 27:40, 43, 54; Mark 1:1; 3:11; 15:39; Luke 1:35; 3:38; 4:3, 9, 41; 22:70; John 1:34, 49; 3:18; 5:25; 10:36; 11:4, 27; 19:7; 20:31; Acts 8:37; 9:20; Rom 1:4; 2 Cor 1:19; Gal 2:20; Eph 4:13; Heb 4:14; 6:6; 7:3; 10:29; 1 John 3:8; 4:15; 5:5, 10, 12, 20; Rev 2:18).

12) The "I AM" sayings that hearken back to Exod 3:14, such as Matt 16:15 (Mark 8:27; Luke 9:18-20); Matt 18:20; 28:20; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:70; and at least 25 in John (6:35, 41, 48, 51; 8:12, 23-24, 28; 8:58; 9:5, 9; 10:7, 9, 11, 14, 36; 11:25; 14:6, 10-11, 20; 15:1, 5; 18:8, 37).

13) Compare the alpha and omega or first and last references; Rev 1:8; 21:6; and 22:13 refer to God, but Rev 1:17; 2:8 refer to Jesus Christ. Isaiah says these apply only to God (Isa 44:6; 48:12).

14) The references referring to divine attributes like creation, omniscience, omnipresence, etc.

iii. The Son is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit.

1) See instances above concerning the Father and the Son.

2) At Christ's baptism, the Spirit was descending like a dove and the Father was speaking from heaven (Matt 3:16-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22).

c. The Holy Spirit

i. The Holy Spirit is a person.

1) Jehovah's Witnesses consider the Holy Spirit only a power or influence sort of like the force in Star Wars.

2) Paul warns us, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Eph 4:30). One cannot grieve a power.

3) "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom 8:16). Influences do not testify.

4) "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? ... You have not lied to men but to God'" (Acts 5:3-4). One cannot lie to an influence.

5) "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!'" (Rev 22:17). Power does not talk.

6) Even though pneuma is a neuter noun in Gk., it is sometimes referred to with a masculine pronoun.

a) "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you" (John 14:26).

b) "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me" (John 15:26).

c) "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come" (John 16:13).

ii. The Holy Spirit is divine.

1) Peter indicated that lying to the Spirit was the same as lying to God (Acts 5:3-4).

2) The Spirit has omniscience, "The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God" (1 Cor 2:10).

3) The Spirit is called, "the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor 6:11) and "Spirit of God" (Gen 1:2).

iii. The Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son.

1) The Son sends the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father (John 15:26).

2) Again, at Christ's baptism, the Spirit was descending like a dove and the Father was speaking from heaven (Matt 3:16-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22).

d. The second foundation of the Trinity is that there are three distinct divine Persons.

3. The Persons are equal and eternal.

a. Father

i. Equality of the Father is non-controversial.

ii. Eternality of the Father is non-controversial.

b. Son

i. Equal

1) "Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, "Show us the Father "?'" (John 14:8-9)

2) Paul said of Jesus Christ that He "being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped" (Phil 2:6).

ii. Eternal

1) "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity" (Mic 5:2).

2) "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1 GWN, NLT).

3) Jesus prayed, "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was" (John 17:5).

c. Holy Spirit

i. Equal

1) The Spirit speaks as God, "While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them'" (Acts 13:2).

2) Christian martyrs are told that "it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11). However, Luke says that "I will give you utterance and wisdom" (Luke 21:15).

ii. Eternal

1) The author of Hebrews calls the Holy Spirit the "eternal Spirit" (Heb 9:14).

2) At the creation, the "Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters" (Gen 1:2).

d. The third foundation of the Trinity is that the Persons are equal and eternal.

C. Trinitarian formulas

1. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all" (2 Cor 13:14).

2. "Jesus came up 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 in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age'" (Matt 28:18-20).

III. Applications: So what?

A. Guard against cults and false teaching

1. Unitarianism, Islam, Orthodox Judaism

2. Jehovah's Witnesses

3. Modalism (e.g., United Pentecostalism)

4. Mormonism

5. "Little gods" teaching

B. Insight into God's nature

1. The persons of Triune God experienced relationship before creation.

2. The persons of Triune God loved each other.

3. God is complete in Himself and does not need us to complete Him.

4. God created us and desires relationship with us out of pure grace.

C. Worship in "Spirit and truth"

1. God wants to be worshipped as He has revealed Himself.

2. The danger of idolatry.