The Trinity
Keith Stewart
The Book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsThe Book of Acts is a history book of the Early Church. It records the “birthday” of Jesus’ Church and gives us insight as to how it began. The Church began on the day of Pentecost, when Jesus sent Holy Spirit from the Father in heaven to the believers. To understand Acts, you must understand Who God is - the Trinity. This sermon explores the Trinity of God.
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May 15th 2022
Series: The Book of Acts
Sermon Title: The Trinity
Topic:Journey through the book of Acts.
Key Passages: Acts 1:8, 2:1-12, John 15-16
Sermon Blurb: The Book of Acts is a history book of the Early Church. It records the “birthday” of Jesus’ Church and gives us insight as to how it began. The Church began on the day of Pentecost, when Jesus sent Holy Spirit from the Father in heaven to the believers. To understand Acts, you must understand Who God is - the Trinity. This sermon explores the Trinity of God.
BRIEF FAMILY MOMENT
If you are new or newer to Family Church, we are so glad you are here today… and let me explain what we’re doing…
We’re in a sermon series that is walking us through the book of Acts in the bible.
Acts is a unique book of the Bible because it records the birth or beginning of The Christian Church.
It highlights both the history and happenings of the Church from its beginning up to about the end of the 1st century.
If you’re filling in your notes, write this down:
The Book of Acts provides a snapshot into what Christianity looked like when it began, and it serves as a blueprint for how the Church and Christians ought to function today.
Acts helps us to understand a lot about the early Church
…not only its formation and history, but it also helps us see what the early church believed, experienced, and did…. which directly impacts us to this day!
Which is why we are walking through Acts.
LONG PAUSE… breath
So, typically, we would walk through a passage in our Bibles, break it down, and then apply it…
…BUT today we’re going to do something a little different.
We’re not going to unpack any one passage of Acts but are going to try to unpack one point of theology.
We’re going to focus in on an idea which undergirds everything about Christianity and will help better understand what happens in the book of Acts as well.
PAUSE
Some of you here are going to really get into this because we’re going to take a “deep dive” into a point of theology that is in many ways a “mystery”.
Some of you may leave today with a glazed look over your eyes…
But we wanted to park on this topic today because if we can get a basic grasp of it, not only will it help us better understand the Book of Acts, but it will also help us better live out the Christian faith.
PAUSE
Please don’t check out on me before we jump into this… don’t let that introduction scare you off or intimidate you.
In fact, if you’re newer to Family Church, let me be very clear…. we rarely do sermons that are SUPER deep or confusing, but today we just felt the need to go deeper.
…because to understand Acts, we need a basic understanding of today’s topic.
LONG PAUSE
OK!
Now that you’re all in deep suspense and wondering what we’re talking about today, what this “deep point of theology” is…
Let’s me pose this this question…
Do you like mysteries? …mystery shows, books, stories?
Do you like the feeling of suspense?
Anyone remember this guy right here? (pic [KS1] of unsolved mysteries host)
If you’re under the age of 30, you may not know who this is…but his name is Robert Stack.
He hosted one of the most iconic mystery-shows to ever air on television
Remember what the show was called? Unsolved Mysteries
…this was a show entirely based on real-life stories portrayed by actors that put the viewer in suspense.
People liked this mystery-show and apparently enjoyed the feeling of suspense…
In fact, Unsolved Mysteries was such an engaging show, that when Netflix pushed out rerun episodes, it sparked so much enthusiasm from the next-generation viewer that they relaunched the show with a different host.
The reality is, most of us like a little suspense, even though we say we don’t like it!
…Or at least we like to watch other people live in suspense
PAUSE
Or, take a great book for example…
….any avid readers here?
Come on, don’t be shy…. raise your hand proudly if you’re a book worm J
Every great story has an awesome climax, right?
And what is a climax?
It’s the culminating moment of the story!
After the storyline builds and builds, the climax is the moment when it all comes to a head… it’s the closure wanted, the explanation needed, the mystery finally revealed.
PAUSE
God has inserted “climax moments” throughout history…
…like the creation of the world,
… the flooding the entire earth,
… Jesus leaving heaven to come to earth,
…. Jesus’ death, burial, and then a literal resurrection from the dead… which has hundreds of eye-witnesses’ to confirm the claim
God has filled history with special moments that have major bearings on you and me!
PAUSE
One of these special moments happened in Acts 1 and Acts 2, which we’ve been looking at over the past couple of weeks.
PAUSE
In Acts 1 and 2, we read about things that happened just days after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection…. what happened when Holy Spirit came upon followers of Jesus.
Remember… 120 followers of Jesus were waiting on the Holy Spirit as Jesus told them to.
They were praying and processing things that had just happened.
They didn’t know what it meant for the Holy Spirit to come upon them because it had NEVER happened before!
Then, suddenly a sound like hurricane-wind erupts, something called tongues of fire descends upon them, and then they start speaking in tongues and are emboldened beyond their own courage!
It was also a fulfillment of a promise!
A promise that impacts every one of us here today.
PAUSE
See, when Jesus started His Church, He fulfilled a promise that He made to His followers.
We see this promise in the Gospel of John and Matthew:
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father - the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father - He will testify about me” John 15:26
Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you”John 16:7
Then in Matthew 28, seconds before Jesus ascends into heaven…He commissions His followers and says,
“Go and make disciples in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…”Matthew 28:19
Jesus promised to send Holy Spirit, and in Acts we find the fulfillment of that promise.
PAUSE
And this is where we need to park today
…To lay a foundation
… to gain a basic understanding of Who God is
… to dive deep into a topic about God
LONG PAUSE
We need to understand God as He has revealed Himself and the Bible is where we gain that understanding.
Christians believe in the God of the Bible.
The God of the Bible revealed Himself to humanity progressively… throughout history
And He records this history and progression in the Bible
…and so, the Bible informs us as to Who God really is and how He chose to reveal Himself and His plan to us.
PAUSE
One of the unique features or distinctives about the God of the Bible is what we refer to as The Trinity.
…I know this is a “churchy” word, so let’s define it
Look in your notes and the screen…
The Doctrine of the Trinity is the Christian belief that God eternally exists in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
….hang with me cause we’re going to work through this together
PAUSE
When we talk about the Trinity… it’s important to note what we are NOT referring to 3 gods when we say Trinity, but 1 God with 3 expressions of Himself.
…and again, that can sound a little confusing, a mystery if you will… BUT this IS how we see God of the Bible revealed Himself.
PAUSE
In fact, the Book of Acts that we are studying is in many ways a book about the Trinity.
In particular, the activity of the Holy Spirit and how God operated through Christians.
PAUSE
So, let’s lean in for moment to better understand Who the Holy Spirit is
Write this down in your notes…
Holy Spirit is one Person of the Godhead.
repeat
Again, let me explain what this means because here are some more “churchy” words and phrases… so don’t tune out.
…and for those who were brought up in Church or been a Christian for a while, this point may sound a little “elementary”, so don’t tune out…
This is SO important…. because a lot of Christians misunderstand or misapply things about God the Holy Spirit
PAUSE
Some people think that Holy Spirit just serves as the “muscle of God” or an errand boy for Jesus
…they think the Spirit is just some force that is impersonal
…….BUT this is NOT what the Bible teaches.
In fact, I’ve heard people, pastors even, who apparently when they think about the Holy Spirit, they think about this guy right here
Pic of Cousin IT from Adams Family
You guys remember “cousin IT” from Adams family?
…that weird, strange, uncle in the family.
Anyone got a strange uncle or cousin
The thing about Cousin IT is nobody knows who he is, what he does, he’s just this weird guy who’s always around.
A lot of us, this is how we treat the Holy Spirit…
…some weird Person, who we don’t really know who He is, what he looks like, or what He does.
A lot of Christians even refer to the Holy Spirit as an “IT” rather than a Person.
PAUSE
The Holy Spirit is a Person of the Trinity, He is GOD, and should be understood, approached, and related with as just that…. as a Person of the Trinity, as fully God.
Just like The Father
…Just like the Son, Jesus
…..Holy Spirit is a Person of the Godhead, He is fully God just like the Father and just like Jesus.
Think about it.... no one ever talks about Jesus and says, “it says.”
No one would call God the Father an “it.”
PAUSE
When Pastor Adam and I were working on this message, we said to one another that we ought to take “THE” out of the phrase when we refer to Holy Spirit.
We never say THE Jesus or THE God.
PAUSE
The trinity of God is a huge topic and can be difficult to comprehend.
The Early Church Fathers tried to help by summarizing this doctrine, saying that God is 1 in Essence and 3 in Being.
Write this down...maybe it will help..…
The Doctrine of the Trinity = 1 God consisting of 3 distinct persons / expressions.
Each Person of the Trinity has a distinct role in our world and in eternity…
I know…this can be super confusing because this is a mystery in many ways that cannot be fully fathomed even at our best efforts…
In fact, some think this concept is absolutely absurd… how can you be 1 and 3 at the same time?
How can a Christian claim to worship 1 God and not 3?
For all my math wizzes here, let me give 2 simple equations, and you solve them:
What is 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
…..3, right?
Now, let’s change the equation but use the same numbers:
What is 1 x 1 x 1 = 1
…..1, right?
To be clear, the Trinity isn’t teaching tritheism, which means the worship of three gods.
It isn’t teaching about “forms of God” - like steam, water, and ice.
It isn’t teaching that Father, Son, and Spirit are each 1/3rd God.
What we are saying is that God is 1 in Essence, 3 in Being
1 God consisting of 3 distinct Persons / expressions
PAUSE
Now....many have tried to illustrate the Trinity to help understand it.
Like water existing in solid, liquid, and gas.
Chemically speaking, it’s still H2o, but it takes on different forms.
Or take an egg…. which is made up of a shell, the egg white, and the yolk.
All three are needed for an egg to be complete.
Or take yourself for example…I am a father, a son, and a husband …yet, I am only one person
PAUSE
Perhaps the best illustration of the Trinity of God is found within creation itself... the universe as God made it.
Our universe consists of three things: time, space, and matter. Look at this with me
Matter = mass + energy + motion
Space = length + time + breadth
Time = past + present + future
So, the whole universe is a witness to the character of the God Who made it!
The Trinity.
Even you and I, humankind, who were made in the image of God according to Genesis 1… are a trinity of sorts.
We have a soul or mind, a spirit or self-consciousness, and physical body.
PAUSE
But here’s the dilemma…. to complicate things even more
The Bible never actually uses the word, Trinity.
There is no Hebrew or Greek word for it…
God never one time referred to Himself as Triune.
BUT what we see all throughout both the Old and New Testament is the concept of God’s Triune Nature.
In the Old Testament, the Trinity is taught by implication
In the New Testament it is taught by direct statements
And I’d encourage you to go and study more about the Trinity of God… so, we put some verses in your handouts for you to further study the Trinity in the Bible.
This isn’t a complete list, but it will give you some insights.
Further Study about the Trinity in the Bible: Genesis 1, Isaiah 48:16, Matthew 3:13-17, Matthew 28:19, John 20:28, Acts 5:3-4, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Galatians 1:1, Ephesians 3:14-21, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Peter 1:2
LONG PAUSE
Now.....I know that was a long setup, but I hope you’ll see that it is necessary to gain a basic understanding of God’s Nature in the book of Acts.
PAUSE
So, with the little bit of time left today…let’s quickly dive into each of the Persons of the Godhead and get a super-basic understanding of Who they are and what they do.
Now, we never want to over-simplify God.
However, when we talk about God, we need a foundation for our understanding.
PAUSE
When we talk about the expression of The Father, one way we can generally understand Him is that He serves as the mind of God.
Write that down…
The Father expresses the mind of God.
*repeat
This isn’t to say He is only that or only the “brains of the operation.”
God the Father expresses Himself throughout history.
We see Him first, in the beginning, in Genesis 1 at the Creation.
When people in the Old Testament interacted with God, it was almost entirely the Father Who they assumedly were communicating with …because God had not fully revealed Himself at that point.
So, they didn’t think in terms of Trinity, but simply God - and called Him YAHWEH or Jehovah.
But even these names were foreshadowing the fuller expression and understanding of the Godhead, which would be revealed as history unveiled itself.
PAUSE
There are times in the Old Testament, when God would reveal Himself and speak directly to someone.
Moses and the burning bush is an example of this.
Father God showed up in the form of a burning bush,
Moses immediately knew it was God,
Then God spoke to Moses revealing something about Himself, His nature, His plans, and our purpose.
PAUSE
In Exodus God hardened the heart of Pharoah.
The Father told the leaders how to build the Tabernacle and Temple with VERY detailed instructions in our Bible.
The Father did all kinds of miracles through prophets, kings, and people to move forward His plan and purpose.
Almost every time the Father interacted with mankind it was to reveal Himself in the Old Testament.
PAUSE
In the New Testament, God the Father takes a step back from the main charter to usher in the second person of the Trinity, Jesus.
God the Father is visible, and He is revered.
BUT we start to see Jesus the Father’s Son become the focus.
And then after Jesus’ ascension, the Holy Spirit takes on a more active role.
Father God is present and vocal at Jesus’ baptism when He speaks and says, “this is my Son in Whom I am pleased”
Father God is clearly present and engaged at Jesus’ death when Jesus looks calls out to heaven and speaks to His Father.
In fact, Father God is mentioned and understood more clearly because of Jesus the Son.
PAUSE
Now, let’s talk about God the Son or Jesus.
When we talk about God the Son, it becomes a bit easier to understand because Jesus became a human like you and me. He taught us and clarified things and even made direct statements about His purpose….
Write this down
Jesus The Son expresses the heart of God.
Again, this is not to oversimplify things, but to help us begin forming a biblical framework about God
Jesus is FULLY God and has always existed.
Like the Father, we see the Son present and active at the beginning, at Creation…
Genesis 1 tells us that all 3 Persons of the Trinity are involved and even says, “let US make man in OUR image”.
Jesus is known to have been the Word of God
So, when creation was “spoken” into existence, it is Jesus the Son Who spoke.
There are prophecies written about Jesus in the Old Testament, so evidently, people knew something about the Son.
PAUSE
Greater clarity regarding the Son comes when Jesus left heaven and became like His creation….
The birth, life, and ministry of Jesus revealed His Nature and purpose.
Jesus expresses the heart of God to save people from sin and death, bring them into salvation and eternal life!
And Jesus said he would send us a helper to help us bring others along to heaven with us!
Jesus sent us Holy Spirit to help us until Jesus returns.
PAUSE
When we get to Holy Spirit, the 3rd Person of the Trinity, we again glean from the Bible to understand.
A lot of what we know is from the New Testament
This is because Holy Spirit was sort of “behind the scenes” in the Old Testament…
He was always existing and working but not fully revealed OR released until after Jesus came to earth…
…and this was ALL part of the plan of God
Write this down
Holy Spirit expresses the movement of God.
*repeat
In the Old Testament, we see Holy Spirit, along with Father and Son in the beginning, at creation
The Bible says in:
Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters
The Spirit breathes life into the nostrils of Adam in Genesis 2:7…
Psalm 104:30 confirms that the Spirit gives life to humanity.
Holy Spirit is actively, powerfully, and intentionally involved from the beginning.
PAUSE
As you work through the Old Testament, you see His activity continue as the Spirit of God is frequently mentioned.
Holy Spirit empowered judges, warriors, and prophets in ways that gave them extraordinary power to accomplish special tasks. (Num. 2718, Judg. 3:10, 6:34)
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit spoke to people (2 Sam. 23:2, Ezek. 2:2)
Holy Spirit helped people anticipate the ministry, Jesus, before He came to earth through the prophet Isaiah in particular (Is. 11:1-5)
One significant difference between Old and New Testament experiences of the Holy Spirit is simply that He selectively indwelled people in the Old BUT in the New Testament Holy Spirit indwells ALL who believe and follow Jesus.
PAUSE
When we step into the New Testament, starting at Acts, you see Holy Spirit primarily working.
He is convicting the world of sin,
pointing people to Jesus as the only source of salvation,
emboldening Christians to share their faith,
equipping Christians to special service,
and empowering Christians with Jesus-honoring abilities!
CLOSING
Now....
I would guess most of you feel like you were drinking from a fire hose today.
You may feel overwhelmed.
You may be thinking “this is way too much, way too heady.”
Our heart and intent is to help you go deeper and sometimes we have to hit pause and go really deep like this.
To ensure we understand Who the God of the Bible is.
PAUSE
Now let me invite you back next week.....
Next week will NOT be this deep or hard to understand I PROMISE!
Next week we will pick up in Acts chapter 3 and we will see some regular people like you and me have the Holy Spirit move through them to do something AMAZING!
So please come back next week....
Let’s pray...