Introduction

Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one (Mark 12:29; Deuteronomy 6:4).

This verse from the Bible represents the beginning of a Jewish creed called the Sh'ma (pronounced "shuh-MAH"). The Sh'ma was, and is, repeated by religious Jews three times each day. It is a primary aspect of their spiritual and religious practice.

The inclusion of such a creed in the prayer life of the faithful highlights how important, to Judaism and Christianity, is right belief (i.e. "orthodoxy"). In order for a person to find the motivation to commit to the right practices (i.e. "orthopraxis"), they must know and understand the God who expects those practices from them. Those practices are generally revealled in the rest of the Sh'ma:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:5).

We are going to revisit those practices in two weeks time, and especially investigate Jesus' 'amendment' to this creed (Mark 12:31).

For today, let's stay with the primary consideration, that of right belief.

The Triune God

A person would be right in being a little confused by the nature of God. While, on the surface, the Sh'ma tells us that "the Lord is one", the original language speaks of a compound unity rather than an absolute singularity — in fact, the Old Testament never speaks of God as an absolute singularity. The Hebrew word echad (pronounced "ekh-AWD"), here translated as "one", is first used in Genesis 2:24 when speaking of marriage: "a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh". As Dr. Peter Steinke remarked during his session at Conference, "the question is which one?"

So, even when the Bible describes God's essential nature in the Old Testament, before Jesus was born and before the Spirit comes into prominence, it speaks of God as being a unity. Belief in God demanded accepting this unity. It would take the coming of Jesus, however, to really 'flesh out' what this means.

At Jesus' baptism (Luke 3:21-22), we have all three persons of the Trinity present: Jesus being baptised, the Spirit descending upon him like a dove, and the Father speaking gushingly of his Son. Elsewhere in the Bible, all three of these persons are described as God (John 6:27; Titus 2:13; Romans 8:14); yet, as distinct from one another (John 11:41-42; 15:26).

An Error

For some 'Christians', they want to affirm God's absolute singularity at the expense of the distinction of the three. Such will argue that

The orthodox Christian doctrine of the Trinity is fundamentally incompatible with a faith that there is only one God. Therefore, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit cannot in this view be real, distinct, coequal persons in the eternal Godhead, but are only different roles that one divine person temporarily assumes (Gregory Boyd, Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity, pg. 9, describing the theology of Oneness Pentecostalism).

Another way of describing this theology is to say that there is one God, who reveals himself in three manifestations — almost as if he wears three different disguises, depending on the situation!

The problem with this theology is that it denies the most fundamental teaching of the Bible: That the essential nature of the one God is that of three distinct persons united and interdependant, as a community.

Does this mean that such people are not really Christians? I can appreciate this variation on the Trinity, but I think that the biblical witness is pretty clear, if not explicit. However, not understanding the Trinity does not mean that they don't worship God or love Jesus. I guess that we'll have to leave the answer to that question up to God!

God is Love

Why is it so important to understand and appreciate this community of God? Because without the three-in-one nature of God, God could not possibly know what it is to love. Theologian Stanley Granz points out that

Self-love cannot be true charity [i.e. "love"]; supreme love requires another, equal to the lover, who is the recipient of that love, and because supreme love is received as well as given, it must be a shared love, in which each person loves and is loved by the other. (Stanley Grenz, The Social God and the Relational Self)

A God who is an absolute singularity cannot know what it is to love another because there is no other. Thus, how can we believe that God created out of love? (Psalm 136:5–9) Or, how can we believe that God is love? (1 John 4:8)

We can affirm that God is love, and that God knows what it is to love, because God is three distinct persons in unity. We can thus learn from God's essential nature the essential nature of the Church.

God is and Encourages Community

The apostle Paul instructed the church at Corinth with these words:

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. (2 Corinthians 13:11-13)

In this passage, the local expression (i.e. a church) of the worldwide and eternal community of believers (i.e. the Church) is described as orderly, united, peaceful, and loving in the likeness of the Trinity! The Trinity is our example, our standard, our motivation and enabling power to become and maintain a community.

God's unity is the template for our unity, in and through which we achieve our fullest personal and corporate potential. As Peter Steinke described, the mature person is confident in who they are, and maintains that confidence in postive relationships with others.

Conclusion

Jesus last words on earth declared how important it is to believe the truth about God:

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20, emphasis added)

It is too easy for people to fall into error about God, probably because we try too hard to fashion God in our own image, or at least try to make him more palatable. On the contrary, God is a mystery that is accessible and knowable by his creation and always with those who love him.

Believing in God as he truly as and as he has truly revealed himself, naturally results in our response of worship and service. It is to this last point that we will return in two weeks time.