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The Trinity by Grace Brown
THE TRINITY
by Grace Brown
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 3:13-17 (NASV)
13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Matt 3:13-17 is one of the clearest pictures of the Trinity in scripture, the Father, the Son-Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. It speaks of God the Father. The Father’s voice came from the heavens saying to John the Baptist and those with him. 17 …”This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
The Father has spoken to people down through the ages. God the Father spoke to Abram, who was later called Abraham saying, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…” (Gen 12:1-4a)
God the Father spoke to Moses, 3 when he went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:3-6)
God spoke to Job, for four chapters God challenged Job’s knowledge of God. When He was finished, Job answered the Lord and said: 2 “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” 7 And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord spoke to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” Job offered a sacrifice for their sins and prayed for mercy for them and the Lord accepted his prayer. (Job 42:2-47 NASB)
Just before Israel went into captivity, God the Father spoke to Jeremiah the prophet giving him the words the Father wanted the people of Israel to hear: 10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive. (Jeremiah 29:10-14a)
Throughout history, God the Father has been speaking to people and orchestrating life through covenants, blessings, and punishments. More than those, through choosing people for a special purpose. Jesus was the anointed, the chosen of God for our redemption. Matt 3:13-17 speaks of God the Father and of Jesus, His Son. Before Jesus came to be baptized 9″ … John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but I knew that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” 32 And John bore witness, saying of Jesus, 34 … I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:9,31-32a,34 NKJV)
John was three (3) months older than Jesus, but said Jesus came before him. And Jesus did come before him. The Lord Jesus always was. Before Jesus was born, He occasionally came in the form a man to talk with people. The theological term is a theophany, a visible manifestation of God. The Lord Jesus walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden often enough that they recognized the sounds He made as he walked. (Gen 3:8)
The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre. There the Lord told Abraham that his wife Sarah would have a son within a year. And all the world would be blessed through him. Before He left He told Abraham the plans for Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham plead on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah for his nephew Lot’s sake. The Lord granted his request. (Gen 18:1-19 NKJV)
The angel of the Lord, another name of the pre-incarnate Jesus appeared to Manoah’s wife and told her she was going to have a son. He was not to drink wine or eat anything that comes from the vine. And he was not to cut his hair. Manoah’s wife told him everything the man had said. She didn’t know he was the angel of the Lord. Manoah asked the Lord to send the man again to speak with him as well. And the Angel of the Lord granted his request. (Judges 13:1-25 NKJV)
In verses 15-20 15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Pray, let us detain you, and prepare a young goat for you.” 16 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food; but if you make ready a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) 17 And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” 18 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” 19 So Manoah took the young goat with the cereal offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord, to him who works wonders. 20 And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. The woman gave birth to a son and he was named Samson. Samson delivered Israel from the oppression of the Philistines.
We read of Jesus among men before He left the glory above to be born of a woman. He lived among us as one of us, delivered us from the penalty of our sins, and rose from the dead giving us new life. After He rose from the dead he sent the Holy Spirit to live within us and teach us all things. Matthew 3:16-17 speaks of God the Father, of Jesus, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit bore witness that Jesus was the Son of God when John “saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him (Jesus).
Down through the ages the Holy Spirit has come upon people for a purpose. After God had given Moses the plans for the tabernacle, God said to him, 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. (Exodus 31:2-4 NKJV)
Later, in the time of the Judges, When Samuel had anointed Saul king, he told Saul,
5 … you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city … you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. (1 Samuel 10:5-7 (NKJV))
Isaiah wrote in chapter 61 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV)
Throughout time, the Holy Spirit has come upon people for a specific purpose; to do something in and through them. Matthew 3:16-17 speaks of God the Father, of Jesus, God’s Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The Father, Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the three persons of the Trinity. Yet they are one God.
Following is a portion of the Athanasian Creed. It is the first known creed to talk about trinity and has been in use since the 6th century. Although Martin Luther, the great reformer, considered it one of the three most important statements of faith, it is not often used today. The Nicene Creed has largely replaced it.
The Athanasain Creed states:
“But our … faith is this, that we venerate one God in the Trinity, and the Trinity in oneness; neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance; for there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit; but the divine nature of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one, their glory is equal, their majesty is coeternal.
Of such a nature as the Father is, so is the Son, so also is the Holy Spirit; the Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated; the Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, and the Holy Spirit is infinite; the Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal; and nevertheless there are not three eternals but one eternal; just as there are not three uncreated beings, nor three infinite beings, but one uncreated, and one infinite; similarly the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty; and yet there are not three almightys but one almighty; thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; and nevertheless there are not three gods, but there is one God; so the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord; and yet there are not three lords, but there is one Lord; because just as we are compelled by Christian truth to confess singly each one person as God, and also Lord, so we are forbidden … to say there are three gods or three Lords. The Father was not made, nor created, nor begotten by anyone. The Son is from the Father alone, not made nor created, but begotten. The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son, not made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. There is, therefore, one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits; and in this Trinity there is nothing first or later, nothing greater or less, but all three Persons are coeternal and coequal with one another, so that in every respect, as has already been said above, both unity in Trinity, and Trinity in unity must be venerated.
Therefore, let him who wishes to be saved, think thus concerning the Trinity.”
The Athanasian Creed is a very precise and detailed statement of the Trinity. But even with such a statement the Trinity is difficult to grasp. I have heard it compared with an egg, with water, and with a triumvirate, a group of three people who share authority.
Of the three, I am not sure I like the picture of the egg or of water best. An egg is one egg, yet it has a shell, a yolk or chick, and the white. They can be compared to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Like an egg shell, the Father is the one who gives the structure. Of course, the Father doesn’t provide structure for the Trinity, but for creation. He sets for us the way we should live. The yolk of an egg becomes the chick, the creature who is part of this world. Jesus left His glory above to become a man and live among us, His creation. Jesus returned to His glory at His resurrection. Of course Jesus, the Son was not created in His birth, but is co eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The white of the egg nourishes the growth of the chick. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and Jesus lived in the power of the Spirit while he lived among us. The Holy Spirit nurtures and nourishes all who are the called and chosen of God, all who believe and trust Jesus death and resurrection for forgiveness and eternal life. Of course the Holy Spirit is co eternal with the Father and Jesus, the Son.
I also like the picture of Trinity like water because water comes in three (3) forms: liquid, solid (ice), and steam, yet it is still water. Ice, water, and steam are of the same essence. The Trinity-the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are of one essence. The Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God. There is no variation within the Trinity. They are not like wind, earth, and fire, but are the same as ice, water, and steam. It is all water, hydrogen dioxide.
The nature of the Trinity wholly different from the first triumvirate I know of except the triumvirate was made of three (3) persons and they ruled together. The First Triumvirate I’m aware of was a political alliance lasting around 6 years from 59 to 53 BC. It was between three prominent Roman politicians: Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) and Marcus Licinius Crassus. They were tied together in the triumvirate by selfishness, ambition, and the opportunity for individual political advantage. It dissolved through the military defeat of one, and the same selfish, ambitious, and opportunistic motives.
Nothing we can think of can truly describe the Trinity with any more comprehensiveness than we can understand God, which is very limited indeed. The Trinity was never created. The Trinity was, is, and will always be united. The very nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the same. And they are united in all things. “In this Trinity there is nothing first or later, nothing greater or less, but all three Persons are coeternal and coequal with one another, so that in every respect, as has already been said above, both unity in Trinity, and Trinity in unity must be venerated. Therefore, let him who wishes to be saved, think thus concerning the Trinity.” (Athanasain Creed)
The Trinity by Grace Brown
The Trinity by Grace Brown
