Episode 114

Disciple Up # 114
Let’s Talk About the Trinity
By Louie Marsh, 6-26-2019

 The notes for this episode were taken from an old series that I wrote quite a few years ago called Basic Bible Questions. Also, don’t forget to check out http://www.waltermartin.com/ for great Bible teaching!

Introduction

 One of the most frequently misunderstood subjects in the Bible and the Christian faith is the Trinity. If you have questions about the Trinity – welcome to the club! Almost everyone does! Questions like: How is it possible for three to be one? What do we mean when we say they are one? What is the doctrine of the Trinity anyway?

This chapter will attempt to give basic answers to these and other questions about the Trinity. Please don’t think of this as the last word, or the most authoritative word, on the topic. Rather think of this as a basic explanation of this important biblical truth.

Only One God

The best starting place for an understanding of the Trinity is the bedrock of all the Bible’s teachings about God. If you don’t understand and believe this – then you do not and cannot understand what the Bible teaches about God. This is absolutely essential to understand and believe.

There is only one God! Not three or four or five or hundreds or more, only one! While many cults and other religions deny this, it remains the cornerstone of biblical truth about God. All Jewish and Christian faith is based on the unshakable conviction that this is true.

The core of the Old Testament faith is found in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”  Rabbi’s call this the Shema. It declares the unique biblical view that there is only one God.

God Himself says the same thing, “Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”  Isaiah 44:8

God also had this to say about the issue: “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 no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed– I, and not some foreign god among you.

You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God. Isaiah 43:10-12

If God doesn’t know of any other gods, and if He in fact declares that they don’t exist, never have and never will, that ought to settle the matter shouldn’t it? [See the End Notes of this chapter for more Scriptural support of this position.]

Three Called God

The Jewish faith lived by their belief in only one God (a belief called Monotheism) for two thousand years. But in the New Testament we learn something new about this One God. We find that there are three Persons (or Personalities) who are called God.

  • The Father: Jesus taught us to pray this way: “This, then, is how you should pray: ” ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, Matthew 6:9. Paul also wrote this; I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father…Eph. 1:17.It is obvious then that the Father is God!
  • The Son: Jesus Christ was called God and called Himself God many times in the New Testament.  In the John’s Gospel He not only claimed this, but he enemies clearly understood Him to be making that claim.  I and the Father are one.”  Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”  “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” John 10:30-33The Apostle Paul teaches us that Christ is completely God, and not some half-god, half-man myth like Hercules for example. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, Col. 2:9 [See this chapters End Notes for more references like these.]

    It is equally obvious that the Son is God!

  • The Holy Spirit: Besides the fact that the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of God and therefore must be God too, there are other Scriptures that show us His divine nature. One that is often overlooked was written by Paul, Now the Lord is the Spirit… 2 Cor. 3:17.We see this very clearly in Acts where in a confrontation with a man who refuses to quit lying Peter makes it clear that lying to the Spirit is lying to God.  Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit… What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” Acts 5:3-4

    Clearly the Holy Spirit is God too!

References Throughout the New Testament

Throughout the New Testament references to the three members of the Trinity abound. For example look at the baptismal formula Jesus gave us: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19.

Or look at what the Apostle Peter said: who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood… 1 Peter 1:2.

Then there is Paul’s blessing (or wish prayer as some call it) on the Corinthians:  May 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.

From these references (and many others can be found) it’s obvious that the writers of the New Testament believed in the Trinity even if they never used the word Trinity.

A Little Logic

Now it’s time for a little logic. Follow this chain of thought through and see if it doesn’t make sense to you.

  • The Bible says there only one God;
  • Yet the New Testament calls three Persons God.

Therefore one or the other of the following two conclusions must be true:

  • The writers of the New Testament were complete idiots who didn’t realize they were contradicting themselves, or
  • Somehow, in someway not completely understood by us, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit together make up the One God of the Bible!

That is what Christians have always believed that the Bible teaches – that is the position Christians everywhere have held.

Defining Terms

I took debate in college and one of the things they constantly stressed to us was the importance of defining your terms. If you can’t define it, you can’t believe it or defend it! Below is a good working definition of the Trinity, this is the classical formula that has been used and believed for centuries.

“Within the nature of the one eternal God, there are three eternal Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Three Being One, Not One Being Three

Having defined the Trinity, it’s important to look a bit deeper at what it means. The Trinity isn’t one God acting like three different persons, or becoming them one after the other, or at different points in time.

This view, known by various names but perhaps best known today as the “Oneness” doctrine (held by the United Pentecostal Church among others) is not what the Bible teaches. It is also not what the Church has taught through out the ages or what Christians have believed.

To illustrate why this interpretation can’t be right let’s look at a couple of situations from the life of Christ and imagine how different they would be if the Oneness doctrine was correct.

 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22

Here at one place and at the same time we have the Son being baptized, the Spirit descending on Him like a dove, and the Father speaking from heaven. Now either God is a ventriloquist or a magician or else the three members of the Trinity co-exist simultaneously together.

If the Oneness doctrine is correct then in the above example God deliberately deceived us by pretending to be three persons when He’s really only one! The same is true of the Transfiguration, look at what God said about Jesus.

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” Matthew 17:5

If the Oneness view is correct then God the Father either lied here – or He made a mistake. He should have said, “This is my beloved me, with me I am well pleased, listen to me!”

Kind of confusing isn’t it? Of course! When Jesus prayed to the Father was He talking to Himself?  No! That’s why the doctrine of the Trinity is so important because it helps us make sense of some of the things Jesus said and did! He wasn’t talking to Himself; He was talking to His Father. So in the New Testament when we see Jesus talking to the Father or the Father talking to Him what we are seeing is one Person in the Trinity talking to another, as they have done from all eternity.

How Does It Work?

No one other than the members of the Trinity themselves could possibly understand or fully explain the way they co-exist together. However through out the history of the church many different illustrations have been used to help us grasp a little of what the Triune God is like.

You’ve probably seen pictures of an over lapping circles to explain how the three Persons of the Trinity can be one yet separate as well.  Or you may have heard the Trinity compared to an egg or a three-leaf clover (that was St. Patrick’s favorite!). Below are my two personal favorite illustrations.

An Illustration From Nature

Picture a beautiful lake surrounded by towering snow capped peaks on a cold mountain morning. It’s covered with a layer of ice and a dense fog is floating over it.

If you could reach into the ice and take a molecule from it, reach into the water below the ice and take a molecule from it, and also take one from the fog what would you have?  You’d have three identical H20 molecules. The substance of the liquid (water), the solid (ice) and the gas (fog) look different, and act different, but has the same molecular makeup – H20.

So it is with members of the Trinity. Their substance is the same, yet they are three distinct Persons. The three are one!

An illustration From Science

Chemists tell us of something they call “The Triple Point of Water.” When you put water into a vacuum tube, pump out all the air and put in under an exact pressure and extremely low temperature, something remarkable happens. Inside the tube the water at the top bursts into steam, the water at the bottom freezes solid, and the water in the middle stays liquid.

All three states exist simultaneously. The Triple Point of Water is the best example of the Trinity I’ve ever heard of (thanks to the late Dr. Walter Martin for teaching it!). The three are unique, yet one, and co-exist simultaneously.

H20 is the simplest of all the molecules, yet God has created it so that it reflects His complex nature. If water can do that – why can’t God? The argument against the Trinity that it’s impossible or irrational is simply not true, as I hope I’ve demonstrated here for you.

The Trinity isn’t completely beyond our grasp. We can understand a little bit of what it is and how it works. God created His universe to mirror His nature, so that we could grasp a little of His glory.

It’s not too hard to believe.

End Notes

Below are some Scripture references that will help you as you study the doctrine of the Trinity, the nature of God and the identity of Jesus.

Only One God: Duet. 4:35,39; 6:4; 32:39; Neh. 9:6; Psalm 83:18; Isa. 37:16; 43:10-15; 44:6-8; 45:5-12,21-25.

Mark 12:29,32; John 5:44; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 1:17; 6:15; James 4:12; Jude 1:25.

Jesus is God: John 1:1-3; 5:16-18; 14:6-9; 20:27-28; Phil. 2:5-11; Col, 1:15-20; 2:8-10.  There’s more but this should get you started!

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Email – louie@discipleup.org

 


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Episode 113

 

Disciple Up #113
Reading From: Getting Real, Chapter Eight
Life Is Tough and Then Ya Die, Ps. 39
By Louie Marsh

1) I must STAY CONNECTED.

 I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.” Psalm 39:1

 ACTING RELIGIOUS

Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise– why destroy yourself? Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool– why die before your time? It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.  Eccles. 7:16-18

  • MISUNDERSTANDING GOD
  • GUILT

2) AVOID the anguish of isolation.

But when I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased. My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: Psalm 39:2-3

  • LACK OF GOOD WORDS
  • INNER ANGUISH
  • CRY OUT EVENTUALLY

 “Mum’s the word,” I said, and kept quiet. But the longer I kept silence The worse it got— my insides got hotter and hotter. My thoughts boiled over; I spilled my guts. Psalm 39:2-3 (Mes)

3) ASK GOD for the proper perspective.

“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. Psalm 39:4

4) MEDITATE on how fleeting life is.

You have made my days a mere handbreadth;  the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath.  Selah  Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:  He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.  Psalm 39:5-6

5) SET MY HOPE on God alone.

“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. Psalm 39:7

6) ADMIT & DEAL WITH my sins.

Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools.  I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand. You rebuke and discipline men for their sin;  you consume their wealth like a moth– each man is but a breath.  Selah Psalm 39:8-11 

7) GET BACK to God!

“Hear my prayer, O Lord,  listen to my cry for help;  be not deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were. Psalm 39:12

8) CHOOSE to rejoice in the Lord!

Look away from me, that I may rejoice again  before I depart and am no more.”  Psalm 39:13

Give me a break, cut me some slack before it’s too late and I’m out of here.”  Psalm 39:13

 Please Get In Touch!

Email – louie@discipleup.org

 


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Episode 112

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Disciple Up # 112
Being Different: Called To Be Single or Married?
By Louie Marsh, 6-12-2019

I Want To Be A Clone By Steve Taylor

1983

I’ve gone through so much other stuff
That walking down the aisle was tough
But now I know it’s not enough –
I Want To Be A Clone
I asked the Lord into my heart
They said that that’s the way to start
But now you’ve got to play the part
I Want To Be A Clone

Be a clone and kiss conviction goodnight
Cloneliness is next to godliness – RIGHT!
I’m grateful that they showed the way
‘Cause I could never know the way
To serve him on my own –
I Want To Be A Clone

They told me that I’d fall away
Unless I followed what they say
Who needs the Bible anyway?
I Want To Be A Clone
Their language, it was new to me
But “Christianese” got through to me
Now I can speak it fluently
I Want To Be A Clone

 

Send in the Clones

Ah, I kinda wanted to tell my friends & people about ya know?

What!  You’re a babe! You have to grow! Give it 20 years or so

Cause if you want to be one of His you have to act like one of us!

Be a clone and kiss conviction goodnight
Cloneliness is next to godliness – RIGHT!
I’m grateful that they showed the way
‘Cause I could never know the way
To serve him on my own –
I Want To Be A Clone

 

So now I see the whole design,

My church is an assembly line

The parts are there I’m feeling –  I want to be a clone

I’ve learned enough to stay afloat, but not so much I rock the boat

I’m glad they shoved it down my throat! – I want to be a clone

IT’S OKAY TO BE DIFFERENT IF THAT’S WHAT GOD IS CALLING YOU TO DO.

The word of the LORD came to me: “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them in this land: They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth. Jeremiah 16:1-4 (ESV)

2  When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” 3  So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. Hosea 1:2-3 (ESV)

32  This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:32 (NIV)

GOD SAYS BOTH MARRIAGE AND BEING SINGLE ARE GOOD

1  Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 1 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)

6  Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. 7  I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. 8  To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. 1 Corinthians 7:6-8 (ESV)

26  I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. 1 Corinthians 7:26 (ESV)

WHAT DOES GOOD MEAN HERE?

καλός kalos adj

Beautiful, good, excellent, advantageous, noble.Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary, The – The Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary – Zeta-Kappa.

kalos is an adjective found over one hundred times with the general meaning “good,” as well as a variety of nuances.

The sense of “excellent,” “choice,” “of high quality” is indicated in Matt. 3:10; 13:24 ff.; Luke 3:9; John 2:10; 1 Tim. 4:4; 2 Tim. 2:3.

kalos denotes that which is “morally upright,” primarily in relation to “good works” (cf. Matt. 5:16; Mark 7:27; John 10:32 ff.; Rom. 14:21; 1 Thess. 5:21; 1 Tim. 5:4, 25; Titus 3:8; Heb. 10:24). The description “good” is applied to the law of God in this sense in Rom. 7:16 ff.; 1 Tim. 1:8.

“Fertile” soil is indicated in Matt. 13:23

GENERAL RULE OF THUMB – I COR. 7

The general rule is that being single is morally excellent and being married is morally excellent. It’s up to us to choose.

BOTH CAN BE A CALLING

Jeremiah and Hosea were both called by God and both had the direct opposite calling.

GOD USES BOTH FREELY AND EQUALLY

Peter married, Paul single

BOTH ARE EQUALLY MORALLY EXCELLENT AND ACCEPTABLE AND PLEASING TO GOD.

GOD CALLS PEOPLE TO BE DIFFERENT

22  To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23  I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 (ESV)

 

 

Episode 111

Disciple Up #111
Extracting the Precious From the Worthless Pt. 2
By Louie Marsh, 6-5-2019

JEREMIAH COMPLAINS

You who know, O LORD, Remember me, take notice of me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away; Know that for Your sake I endure reproach. Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers, Nor did I exult. Because of Your hand upon me I sat alone, For You filled me with indignation. Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable? Jeremiah 15:15-18 (NASB)

GOD’S INCREDIBLE ANSWER

19  Therefore, thus says the LORD, “If you return, then I will restore you— Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. Jeremiah 15:19 (NASB)

therefore thus He has said Yahweh if you will return then I cause you to return before Me you will stand and if you cause to go out precious rather than vile like my mouth you will be they will return

they to you but you you will not return to them Jeremiah 15:19 (CBLBible)

HOW to Extract the Precious from the Worthless

1) Turn Back To God

2) Get a Grip On Who & What Your Really Are

17  “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! Luke 15:17 (ESV)

But when he came to himself (eis heauton de elthōn). As if he had been far from himself as he was from home. As a matter of fact he had been away, out of his head, and now began to see things as they really were. Plato is quoted by Ackerman (Christian Element in Plato) as thinking of redemption as coming to oneself. – Word Pictures in the New Testament.

A striking expression, putting the state of rebellion against God as a kind of madness. It is a wonderful stroke of art, to represent the beginning of repentance as the return of a sound consciousness. Ackermann (“Christian Element in Plato”) observes that Plato thinks of redemption as a coming to one’s self; an apprehending of one’s self as existent; as a severing of the inmost being from the surrounding element. Several passages of Plato are very suggestive on this point. “He who bids a man know himself, would have him know his soul” (“Alcibiades,” i., 130) – Word Studies in the New Testament.

  • We need to have a Moment of Clarity.

3) Figure Out What This Worthless Mess Is Telling You.

  • About Yourself:
    • I’m a people pleaser – Need Boundaries.
    • I’m living in fear.
    • I’m full of unforgiveness.
    • I’ve got an idol and it’s __________.
    • I have a hard heart.
  • About God:
    • What is God’s Grace Really About?
    • God’s on my side in this.
    • God’s with me through all this.
    • God is pleased with how I’m doing thru this.
    • God is displeased with ____________
  • About Other People:
    • This person isn’t good for me.
    • This person isn’t trustworthy.
    • I need to learn to rely on this person, they’ve proven themselves to me in this.
    • I need to forgive this person.
    • I need to draw some new boundaries with this person.

4) Start Speaking Up for God.

  • Broaden out “spokesman” to leader or influencer and I think you’ve got the right idea.
  • Take what I’ve learned, apply it to my life and then let my light shine.
  • Once I’ve gotten a firmer foundation start telling others about what God has taught you. Always be sure to ground whatever it is in Scripture.

 

 Please Get In Touch!Email – louie@discipleup.org

 


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