A Triune God
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The Godhead
The Godhead
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
How can we fathom God? I know stupid question, because in our finite minds we can’t. It’s impossible for the created to understand it’s creator. Oh there are many in the world that think they have life and the reason we exist all figured out, but they in there “wisdom” are still just as clueless as we here are. So today and through the next three times we spend together we will try to get a grasp on who God is.
Mother bent over to kiss Tommy goodnight. Two little arms reached up and pulled her close. “Don’t go, Mommy. I want to ask you a question.” Mother waited, wondering whether this was a stall technique or a deep question from a 10 year old brain.
“You and Daddy said God is love an that He loved even before He made angels or our world. But how could God love before there were angels or people? He was all by Himself with no one to love.”
“You’ve been doing a lot of thinking, Tommy, but you’ve forgotten something important. God wasn’t alone, for God is Three. And all Three have been forever-God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Big people use the word Trinity, which means three!”
“Does God ever get lonely?”
“Yes, Jesus was often lonely for His Father when He was on earth, and I know God missed Him. And God is lonely for us, too. That’s way Jesus is coming to take us to heaven soon. The Godhead, all Three, love each other so much they want to share that love. Love always wants to give more.”
If Tommy’s sleepy eyes hadn’t closed, Mother could have told him about the “Us” verse that proves God wasn’t alone at creation: “Let us make man in our image” or the one that mentions all three:
16 Come closer, and listen to this.
From the beginning I have told you plainly what would happen.”
And now the Sovereign Lord and his Spirit
have sent me with this message.
But then no one can explain the mystery that while there is only ONE God,
4 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
The Godhead consists of three co-eternal Persons having a unique and mysterious relationship.
What is God Like: Preview
What is God Like: Preview
At Port Dickson on the west coast of Malaysia, is a lighthouse built on a steep, rocky cliff. The beam from that lighthouse guided more than a thousand ships each week past the dangerous rocks and shallows of the coast. Streaming from on source, its blinking glow could be seen not only for out at sea, but also along the cost for many miles.
God is somewhat like that light. He is the Eternal Father, who possess infinite love, light, and wisdom. With Him, as part of the Godhead, is His Son, Jesus - our Saviour and Creator, who is also the Light of the world. Working as part of the holy team is the Holy Spirit, our enlightener. Jesus tells us
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
This love is more real, active, and concrete than the love we feel, all though our love is very real, it’s not polluted and warped by sin.
All three holy Persons illumine the pathway to heaven. As light shines out in every direction, so they are present everywhere, determined to do everything possible to save us. While the Godhead is not one person, but Three, God is one in purpose , mind and character.
The separateness of their personalities was evident at Jesus baptism. During the baptism of the Son of God, the Father gave His verbal belessing, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove
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. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Just before Jesus died, He promised,
26 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 things that I said to you.
Points to Ponder
Points to Ponder
There are many wonderful names for God. There are about 42, unless I missed counted, in the Hebrew language. Each name adds many details to the beautiful emerging portrait of the Godhead. Psalms 111:9 tells us
9 He has sent redemption to His people;
He has commanded His covenant forever:
Holy and awesome is His name.
Lets look at some of the Hebrew words translated to English that describe our God.
Elohim: God, mighty covenant maker (plural form indicating more than on), creator and Judge
The word Elohim 404 times in the Psalms most often referring to the God of Israel
Elohim Chai: Living God
Remember, David talks about Goliath defying the “living God” David was always very possessive of what God would do for His people
Elohei Chasdi: God of mercy
David use this word to explain God is a God of mercy. David ask God to show him mercy many times in the Bible, by the Elohei means “God of”
Elohei Olam: God Everlasting
Olam literally means “for an age” and it seems to emphasize duration and is common used for eternity, enduring, and continuity.
Elohei Mikarov: God who is near
The Bible tells us that God is omnipresent. He is in the world, He is above the world, He fills all of the universe but can also be in my heart as well. It acknowledges His immanence within all.
El: Mighty one
El was used in conjunction to describe an attribute of God. Such as, El Roi - the god who sees.
El Elyon: Everlasting God Most High
Melchizedek was described in Genesis as the the priest of the “God most high” Ps 18:13 Elyon alone is used to describe God.
El Gibbor: God the Champion
Gibbor also means mighty one or warrior. Do we see any evidence in the Bible of God being mighty or a warrior or a champion?
El Shaddai: God Almighty, source of blessing and comfort
This name for God is used primarily in the books of Genesis and Job. Forty one and thirty one respectively. Most scholars seem to think that it was derived for the word for mountain, thus “the Almighty” God’s Omnipotence is derived from this name.
Yahweh: Jehovah or LORD: “I AM WHO I AM”
Spelled YHWH in Hebrew, it was the personal name for God to the Israelites. The original pronunciation for the word was last because it was only written and never spoken as it was considered blasphemous to utter the name of God by the Jews.
Adonai: God, Almighty Ruler
It’s a word that was used a sign of respect, like master or Lord, some one that ruled over you. It’s interesting that in Jewish tradition when reading the Hebrew text, that one was to substitute the word Adonai for the YHWH or Yahweh.
Nuts and Bolts
Nuts and Bolts
So lets get into the Bible and understand from the Bible who God really is.
1. Knowing God is more than knowing His names.
1. Knowing God is more than knowing His names.
Jesus tells us in John
3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Through the Bible and nature we come to know God. As we worship God, nature helps us understand Him better. Like the little boy who almost explodes with big wonderful words about his daddy, we use the some difficult words to describe the Godhead. Not only God’s names but His divine attributes provide information to help us know God a little better.
2. Omniscience.
2. Omniscience.
a. Consider how your body shows God’s wisdom.
a. Consider how your body shows God’s wisdom.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
Red corpuscles- fantastic little carriers of raw materials and oxygen - go to remote parts of your body. Instead of returning empty, they pick up carbon dioxide and dump it in the lungs for a fresh load. How does God guide these billions of red cells, all constantly moving, without a mammoth traffic jam?
How did God design mysterious substances that the best chemists have never been able to duplicate, to convert apples, spinach, bread, and carrots into bones, fingernails, teeth, muscles, blood and saliva? How can our stomachs, pancreas and small intestine know which digestive juices are appropriate for which foods, and in what order each should be digested? We truly are fearfully and wonderfully made.
b. Consider how nature reveals God’s wisdom.
b. Consider how nature reveals God’s wisdom.
5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
Think for a moment about the Creator’s plan to protect the pollen in flowers and grasses from rain and dew. On rainy days notice a field of Queen Anne’s lace sometime. Some of the delicate round flower heads are tipped over, but then some are not. Why do you suppose? The older heads that have already shed their pollen remain erect. Those that have just bloomed where the pollen is still ripening - are tipped over 90 degrees. God planned that in wet weather the new stems become flabby about two inches below the flower head, therefore protecting the pollen from the rain. Could your or I or the best scientist have designed this? Only our wonderful gracious God could design the stem to droop if pollen is present and stand erect if it is not!
3. Omnipotence.
3. Omnipotence.
a. God asked in Job 38:31,
31 “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
Or loose the belt of Orion?
We cannot, but God can and does. This star cluster in the Norther Hemisphere appears to have six or seven stars, but through telescopes, astronomers have identified more than 250 of them. All of these stars, one of which is 800 times lager than our sun, move through space on parallel paths having a common motion. It’s as if God said, “Your are to journey through the heavens together. My power will hold you in a cluster as you travel at terrific speed through space.
b. Matt 19:26
b. Matt 19:26
26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
4. Omnipresence
4. Omnipresence
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
Light (called radiant energy) can help us understand better this concept of God’s ability to be present everywhere at the same time. All light exists in the form of waves, ranging from enormous one hundreds of miles in length, to infrared rays measured in microns - about 1/100th of a millimeter - or cosmic rays so small that they are tiny fractions of a millionth of an inch. Yet trained persons using complicated machines can do marvelous wonders with these types of invisible light all around us, such as x-rays and ultraviolet rays. Though God is invisible, He is always near and longs to surround you and I with His loving presence. You and I can be illumined by the light of His life.
5. Immutability
5. Immutability
6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.
In the tropical rain forest of Malaysia, the ever - wet jungles have temperatures similar to a hothouse. July or January, the rain forest literally drips. Jungle animals don’t hibernate like they do here. Food is always around all year long. Bird generations immediately follow the last one. New pink or red leaves appear continually on the green foliage. the jungle throbs with grandeur, a fantastic profusion of life, and unusual sounds. The multitude of species in the flora and fauna is overwhelming. You can stand there and just marvel at its unvariableness. Our God is like this. With Him there is no variableness.
17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
He does not change. He is constant in his love and mercy. He is always true to His promises. Are you as thankful as I am that our God doesn't change?
Words to Remember
Words to Remember
Lets look at these words again.
Self-existent: Not dependent on anyone else for His life.
Omniscient: All wise, all knowing.
Omnipresent: All powerful, almighty.
Immutable: Unchangeable, perfect.
Sovereignty: Having all dominion and supreme power Ps 135:6
Foreknowledge: Knowing a thing before it exists or happens.
Human Freedom: The ability to make personal choices freely - a gift given by God to all humans.
Plurality: More than one. The Godhead is three divine Persons.
Incarnation: God coming in flesh in the person of Jesus.
The Differences Between
The Differences Between
Foreknowledge and human freedom
Foreknowledge and human freedom
God allows us to sin, but He does not ordain your actions. God respects your freedom to choose. God may foresee your choice, but His foreknowledge does not determine what that choice will be.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Choices
Choices
A clover leaf is one leaf with three leaflets. It is not three leaves, but only one, yet the three leaves make it one.
Likewise the Godhead - Three in one.
On the cross we can see the inexpressible love of the Godhead for each one of us. The Father and the Holy Spirit shared the agony of the Son when He cried out , “My God, my God why have you forsaken Me? They suffered with Him when He could not see beyond the grave. Together they felt the depth of sorrow, of horror, we will never understand. Now comes the choices. Consider carefully and let God know your choice.
I choose to accept the glorious possibilities God has planned for me, to give me a future and a hope.
I am opening my heart for the first time or recommitting it to receive God’s love.
I am resolving that the unsearchable love of God won’t be wasted on me.