009 - 17 - Lesson 17: An Ancient Analogy for the Trinity
Notes
Transcript
Handout
The Bible teaches that the one God is the Father, Son, and Spirit. Great thinkers in church history have offered an analogy to help us grasp the biblical language about the Father, Son, and Spirit.
The Key Biblical Term: “Proceed”
The Key Biblical Term: “Proceed”
The Son proceeds from the Father (John 8:42), and the Spirit proceeds from the Father (John 15:26).
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
But wait! If Jesus is the LORD (Phil. 2:9-11), and the Spirit is the LORD (2 Cor. 3:17), and the LORD is eternal, how can they “proceed”?
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
They must proceed eternally.
The Father and the Son
The Father and the Son
The Father eternally begets the Son, sort of like a mind conceives of a thought and the thought proceeds from the mind (cf. John 1:1).
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
This helps explain the passages that describe the Son as “from” the Father (Heb. 1:3; Phil. 2:6; Col. 1:15; 2 Cor. 4:4).
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
The key error to avoid is that there was a time the Father existed that the Son did not.
The Father and the Spirit
The Father and the Spirit
The word “spirit” can also mean “breath,” so one way to grasp the procession of the Spirit is that the Father eternally breathes the Spirit.
This is sort of like the will chooses to love someone, and love proceeds from the will (Rom. 5:5).
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
The key here is that the Spirit is eternally “from” the Father (2 Cor. 3:17).
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Several passages speak of the Spirit as “from” or “of” the Son as well as the Father (Rom. 8:9; John 15:26; 16:15).
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
So perhaps the Father and the Son eternally breathe the Spirit.
Key takeaway: God is personal, relational, and loving in a way that exceeds our comprehension – and God invites us to share this love!
Your Notes and Questions
Your Notes and Questions